Study on a Pneumatically Actuated Robot for Simulating Evolutionary Developmental Process of Musculoskeletal Structures

Hideyuki Ryu; Yoshihiro Nakata; Yuya Okadome; Yutaka Nakamura; Hiroshi Ishiguro

doi:10.20965/jrm.2016.p0226

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JRM Vol.28 No.2 pp. 226-233

doi: 10.20965/jrm.2016.p0226

(2016)

Paper:

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Study on a Pneumatically Actuated Robot for Simulating Evolutionary Developmental Process of Musculoskeletal Structures

Hideyuki Ryu, Yoshihiro Nakata, Yuya Okadome, Yutaka Nakamura, and Hiroshi Ishiguro

Department of Systems Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
1-3 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan

Received:

April 2, 2015

Accepted:

February 22, 2016

Published:

April 20, 2016

Keywords:

actuator network system, evolutionary robotics, multiarticular muscle, musculoskeletal robot

Abstract

Under the effects of surroundings such as gravitational force, ambient temperature, and chemical substances, each animal has acquired an optimized body structure through its evolution. For example, vertebrate land animals have a sophisticated musculoskeletal structure including not only monoarticular muscles but also multiarticular muscles to support their weight against gravitational force. Many researchers have developed musculoskeletal robots with a biarticular muscle mechanism that enables them to execute physical tasks similar to the mimicked animal. However, the developmental process of the musculoskeletal structure has not been examined in detail in past studies. In this study, we developed a musculoskeletal robot with redundant air cylinders to investigate the developmental process of the body structure of the animal. We proposed a switching mechanism between several muscle structures called the actuator network system (ANS). In the ANS, the selection of mutually interconnected, simultaneously activated air cylinders is changed by switching the interconnections. The experimental results indicate that by changing the connection of the cylinders and the inner pressure of the connected cylinders, i.e., the strength of the connection, the response of the robot to external forces can be modified, thus demonstrating the feasibility of our approach.

A pneumatic musculoskeletal robot

Cite this article as:

H. Ryu, Y. Nakata, Y. Okadome, Y. Nakamura, and H. Ishiguro, “Study on a Pneumatically Actuated Robot for Simulating Evolutionary Developmental Process of Musculoskeletal Structures,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.28 No.2, pp. 226-233, 2016.

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References

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[12] H. Ryu, Y. Nakata, Y. Okadome, Y. Nakamura, and H. Ishi-guro, “Development of pneumatically actuated robot for simulating evolutionary developmental process of musculoskeletal structures,” Proc. of the 2014 JSME Conf. on Robotics and Mechatronics, 1A1-J03, Toyama, Japan, May 2014.
[13] H. Ryu, Y. Nakata, Y. Okadome, Y. Nakamura, and H. Ishiguro, “A Physically Connected Actuator Network: A Self-organizing Mechanism for Robotic Musculoskeletal Systems,” IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robotics and Systems (IROS 2014), Workshop: From Active Impedance to Intrinsically Compliant and Variable Impedance Actuators: Pros, Cons and Trade-offs, Chicago, IL, USA, Sept. 14th, 2014.
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[15] T. Fujikawa, T. Oshima, M. Kumamoto, and N. Yokoi, “Functional Coordination Control of Pairs of Antagonistic Muscles,” Trans. of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Series C, Vol.63, No.607, pp. 769-776, 1997.
[16] K. C. D. Fu, Y. Nakamura, T. Yamamoto, and H. Ishiguro, “Analysis of Motor Synergies Utilization for Optimal Movement Generation for a Human-like Robotic Arm,” Int. J. of Automation and Computing, Vol.10, No.6, pp. 515-524, Dec. 2013.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] C. Darwin, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life,” John Murray, Nov. 24, 1859.

[2] [2] N. Saito, “From selectionism to neutralism: paradigm shift of evolutionary studies,” NTT Publishing Co., Ltd., 2009.

[3] [3] M. Kumamoto, “Revolution in humanoid robotics: evolution of motion control,” Tokyo Denki University Press, 2006.

[4] [4] I. Nara, M. Kumamoto, N. Hata, and Y. Uchiyama, “Biarticular muscles: Motion control and Rehabilitation,” IGAKU-SHOIN Ltd., 2008.

[5] [5] R. Pfeifer, M Lungarella, and F Iida, “The Challenges Ahead for Bio-Inspired `Soft' Robotics,” Communications of the ACM, Vol.55, No.11, pp. 76-87, Nov. 2012.

[6] [6] T. Oshima, K. Toriumi, T. Fujikawa, and N. Momose, “Effects of the Lower Leg Bi-Articular Muscle in Jumping,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.16, No.6, pp. 643-648, 2004.

[7] [7] V. Salvucci, Y. Kimura, S. Oh, and Y. Hori, “BiWi: Bi-Articularly Actuated and Wire Driven Robot Arm,” IEEE Int. Conf. on Mechatronics 2011, Istanbul, Turkey, Apr. 2012.

[8] [8] A. Ide, Y. Nakata, Y. Nakamura, K. Hirata, and H. Ishiguro, “Compliant physical interaction of a musculoskeletal robotic arm based on control of the stiffness ellipse at the end effector,” Proc. of the 2012 JSME Conf. on Robotics and Mechatronics, 1P1-T07, Hamamatsu, Japan, May 2012.

[9] [9] K. Urai, Y. Okadome, Y. Nakata, Y. Nakamura, and H. Ishi-guro, “Estimation of Physical Interaction between a Musculoskeletal Robot and Its Surroundings,” Artificial Life and Robotics, Vol.19, No.2, pp. 193-200, Sept. 2014.

[10] [10] Y. Nakata, A. Ide, Y. Nakamura, K. Hirata, and H. Ishiguro, “Hopping of a Monopedal Robot with a Biarticular Muscle Driven by Electromagnetic Linear Actuators,” IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation 2012, pp. 3153-3160, St. Paul, MN, USA, May 2012.

[11] [11] Y. Nakata, A. Ide, Y. Nakamura, K. Hirata, and H. Ishiguro, “Hopping by a Monopedal Robot with a Biarticular Muscle by Compliance Control – An Application of an Electromagnetic Linear Actuator –,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.25, No.1, pp. 106-114, 2013.

[12] [12] H. Ryu, Y. Nakata, Y. Okadome, Y. Nakamura, and H. Ishi-guro, “Development of pneumatically actuated robot for simulating evolutionary developmental process of musculoskeletal structures,” Proc. of the 2014 JSME Conf. on Robotics and Mechatronics, 1A1-J03, Toyama, Japan, May 2014.

[13] [13] H. Ryu, Y. Nakata, Y. Okadome, Y. Nakamura, and H. Ishiguro, “A Physically Connected Actuator Network: A Self-organizing Mechanism for Robotic Musculoskeletal Systems,” IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robotics and Systems (IROS 2014), Workshop: From Active Impedance to Intrinsically Compliant and Variable Impedance Actuators: Pros, Cons and Trade-offs, Chicago, IL, USA, Sept. 14th, 2014.

[14] [14] S. Hagio, M. Fukuda, and M. Kouzaki, “Identification of muscle synergies associated with gait transition in humans,” Frontiers in human neuroscience, Vol.9, 2015.

[15] [15] T. Fujikawa, T. Oshima, M. Kumamoto, and N. Yokoi, “Functional Coordination Control of Pairs of Antagonistic Muscles,” Trans. of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Series C, Vol.63, No.607, pp. 769-776, 1997.

[16] [16] K. C. D. Fu, Y. Nakamura, T. Yamamoto, and H. Ishiguro, “Analysis of Motor Synergies Utilization for Optimal Movement Generation for a Human-like Robotic Arm,” Int. J. of Automation and Computing, Vol.10, No.6, pp. 515-524, Dec. 2013.