Bifurcation-Based Actuation for Autonomous, Smart Structures
Abstract
This is the Final Performance Report for the award titled Bifurcation-based actuation for autonomous smart structures, Award Number FA9550-19-1-0285 (6/1/2019 - 5/31/2023). The goal of this project was to develop the concept of embodied logic and to enable sequenced autonomous actuation that is determined solely by a systems composition and geometry. Rather than using mechatronic systems composed of electronic sensors, actuators, batteries, and control systems to achieve autonomous action (as is typical in robotics) the material-structure combination itself may embody these functions, similar to natural systems like the Venus flytrap. This work was organized by three specific aims: (Aim 1, Stimuli-responsive materials.) The primary goals of Aim 1 were completed in Project Years 3 (see project schedule in Table 1), with the development of a carbon nanotube (CNT) liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) composite. The CNTs absorb light and convert it to heat, actuating the LCE. With this material, together with the heat-responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), magnetoactive composites, silicones, and hydrogels developed in previous years, embodied logic can be constructed that autonomously actuates in response to light, heat, magnetic fields, non-polar solvents, and water. The timing and shape changes associated with actuation can be controlled via the build sequence used during 3D printing. (Aim 2, Multistable mechanisms.) We have experimentally, numerically, and analytically characterized the static and dynamic behavior of several multistable mechanisms, including motifs based on snapping beams and rotating polygons. (Aim 3, System integration and theoretical framework.) In Aim 3, we integrated the materials and mechanisms from Aims 1 and 2 to explore autonomous soft robots with the ability to compute their trajectory based on distributed transduction events in the robot body (published in Science Advances in Year 4).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 13, 2024
- Accession Number
- AD1230354
Entities
People
- Jordan R. Raney
Organizations
- University of Pennsylvania