Recent Advances in Robotics and Biomimetics

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Locomotion and Bioinspired Robotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2025 | Viewed by 6969

Special Issue Editors

School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Interests: robot manipulation; motion planning; intelligent robot
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Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
Interests: miniature robot; morphing mechanism; mechanism design; metamorphous multirotor
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
Interests: biomimetics; robotics; unmanned aero-aquatic vehicles

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nature is one of the best sources to inspire ideas. Many robots and methods are inspired by animals and their behaviours. Today, many challenges still exist on our way to building more intelligent and mimic robots, such as creating more compact and powerful actuators, multi-modal locomotion, and more intelligent sensing and decision. Breakthroughs are expected to be found by learning from nature to achieve better robotics and biomimetics.

This Special Issue aims to present the newest output and result in the areas of “Recent Advances in Robotics and Biomimetics”. The Special Issue will contain revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers that were presented at the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (IEEE ROBIO 2023, http://robio2023.org/).

Papers are welcomed on topics that are related to robotics and biomimetics, including but not limited to:

  • Bioinspired robots (swimming, creeping, and flying robots).
  • Humanoid robots (mechanism, sensing, and control).
  • Applications of robotics and AI.
  • New method and technology in robotics and biomimetics.
  • Soft robotics and new concept robot.
  • Multi-robot systems and collaborative robots.

Dr. Weiwei Wan
Prof. Dr. Peng Li
Dr. Yayi Shen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • robotics
  • biomimetics
  • bio-inspired robot and methods
  • robot control
  • robot mechanism
  • soft robot
  • humanoid robot
  • new application of robotics

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 8015 KiB  
Article
Bionic Robot with Multifunctional Leg–Arm Mechanism for In-Orbit Assembly of Space Trusses
by Yuetian Shi, Qingzhang Xu, Rui Shi, Haohang Liu, Meiyang Zhang, Xuyan Hou, Weijun Wang and Zongquan Deng
Biomimetics 2024, 9(9), 550; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9090550 - 11 Sep 2024
Viewed by 971
Abstract
This article aims to address the in-orbit assembly needs of truss structures in space missions by designing a robot capable of moving on trusses and manipulating parts. To enhance the stability of the robot during movement and part manipulation, inspiration was drawn from [...] Read more.
This article aims to address the in-orbit assembly needs of truss structures in space missions by designing a robot capable of moving on trusses and manipulating parts. To enhance the stability of the robot during movement and part manipulation, inspiration was drawn from the Dynastes Hercules beetle. Building upon detailed research on the Dynastes Hercules beetle, a biomimetic structure was designed for the robot system. Based on specific task requirements, the overall plan of the robot was developed, and its kinematic and dynamic models were derived. A prototype of the robot was created, which is capable of both movement and assembly functions, including handling spherical and rod-like objects. Through a series of experiments conducted with the robot, the research results demonstrated that the proposed design can effectively achieve the intended functions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Robotics and Biomimetics)
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16 pages, 3418 KiB  
Article
Human–Exoskeleton Coupling Simulation for Lifting Tasks with Shoulder, Spine, and Knee-Joint Powered Exoskeletons
by Asif Arefeen, Ting Xia and Yujiang Xiang
Biomimetics 2024, 9(8), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9080454 - 25 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1177
Abstract
In this study, we introduce a two-dimensional (2D) human skeletal model coupled with knee, spine, and shoulder exoskeletons. The primary purpose of this model is to predict the optimal lifting motion and provide torque support from the exoskeleton through the utilization of inverse [...] Read more.
In this study, we introduce a two-dimensional (2D) human skeletal model coupled with knee, spine, and shoulder exoskeletons. The primary purpose of this model is to predict the optimal lifting motion and provide torque support from the exoskeleton through the utilization of inverse dynamics optimization. The kinematics and dynamics of the human model are expressed using the Denavit–Hartenberg (DH) representation. The lifting optimization formulation integrates the electromechanical dynamics of the DC motors in the exoskeletons of the knee, spine, and shoulder. The design variables for this study include human joint angle profiles and exoskeleton motor current profiles. The optimization objective is to minimize the squared normalized human joint torques, subject to physical and task-specific lifting constraints. We solve this optimization problem using the gradient-based optimizer SNOPT. Our results include a comparison of predicted human joint angle profiles, joint torque profiles, and ground reaction force (GRF) profiles between lifting tasks with and without exoskeleton assistance. We also explore various combinations of exoskeletons for the knee, spine, and shoulder. By resolving the lifting optimization problems, we designed the optimal torques for the exoskeletons located at the knee, spine, and shoulder. It was found that the support from the exoskeletons substantially lowers the torque levels in human joints. Additionally, we conducted experiments only on the knee exoskeleton. Experimental data indicated that using the knee exoskeleton decreases the muscle activation peaks by 35.00%, 10.03%, 22.12%, 30.14%, 16.77%, and 25.71% for muscles of the erector spinae, latissimus dorsi, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, and biceps femoris, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Robotics and Biomimetics)
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13 pages, 4621 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Gait Acquisition through Learning Dynamic Stimulus Instinct of Bipedal Robot
by Yuanxi Zhang, Xuechao Chen, Fei Meng, Zhangguo Yu, Yidong Du, Zishun Zhou and Junyao Gao
Biomimetics 2024, 9(6), 310; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9060310 - 22 May 2024
Viewed by 1081
Abstract
Standard alternating leg motions serve as the foundation for simple bipedal gaits, and the effectiveness of the fixed stimulus signal has been proved in recent studies. However, in order to address perturbations and imbalances, robots require more dynamic gaits. In this paper, we [...] Read more.
Standard alternating leg motions serve as the foundation for simple bipedal gaits, and the effectiveness of the fixed stimulus signal has been proved in recent studies. However, in order to address perturbations and imbalances, robots require more dynamic gaits. In this paper, we introduce dynamic stimulus signals together with a bipedal locomotion policy into reinforcement learning (RL). Through the learned stimulus frequency policy, we induce the bipedal robot to obtain both three-dimensional (3D) locomotion and an adaptive gait under disturbance without relying on an explicit and model-based gait in both the training stage and deployment. In addition, a set of specialized reward functions focusing on reliable frequency reflections is used in our framework to ensure correspondence between locomotion features and the dynamic stimulus. Moreover, we demonstrate efficient sim-to-real transfer, making a bipedal robot called BITeno achieve robust locomotion and disturbance resistance, even in extreme situations of foot sliding in the real world. In detail, under a sudden change in torso velocity of 1.2 m/s in 0.65 s, the recovery time is within 1.5–2.0 s. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Robotics and Biomimetics)
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24 pages, 8774 KiB  
Article
Snake Robot with Motion Based on Shape Memory Alloy Spring-Shaped Actuators
by Ricardo Cortez, Marco Antonio Sandoval-Chileño, Norma Lozada-Castillo and Alberto Luviano-Juárez
Biomimetics 2024, 9(3), 180; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9030180 - 16 Mar 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1891
Abstract
This study presents the design and evaluation of a prototype snake-like robot that possesses an actuation system based on shape memory alloys (SMAs). The device is constructed based on a modular structure of links connected by two degrees of freedom links utilizing Cardan [...] Read more.
This study presents the design and evaluation of a prototype snake-like robot that possesses an actuation system based on shape memory alloys (SMAs). The device is constructed based on a modular structure of links connected by two degrees of freedom links utilizing Cardan joints, where each degree of freedom is actuated by an agonist–antagonist mechanism using the SMA spring-shaped actuators to generate motion, which can be easily replaced once they reach a degradation point. The methodology for programming the spring shape into the SMA material is described in this work, as well as the instrumentation required for the monitoring and control of the actuators. A simplified design is presented to describe the way in which the motion is performed and the technical difficulties faced in manufacturing. Based on this information, the way in which the design is adapted to generate a feasible robotic system is described, and a mathematical model for the robot is developed to implement an independent joint controller. The feasibility of the implementation of the SMA actuators regarding the motion of the links is verified for the case of a joint, and the change in the shape of the snake robot is verified through the implementation of a set of tracking references based on a central pattern generator. The generated tracking results confirm the feasibility of the proposed mechanism in terms of performing snake gaits, as well as highlighting some of the drawbacks that should be considered in further studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Robotics and Biomimetics)
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