Area of research
Biomedical Engineering · Control and Systems Engineering
Research interest
Research topics from publications: Stiffness-Tunable Soft Bellows Actuators by Cross-Fiber Jamming Effect for Robust Grasping; A Soft Finger With Tensile Variable Stiffness Based on the Cross-Sliding Jamming Mechanism. Representative work: Soft actuators typically exhibit low stiffness and low load-bearing properties due to the intrinsic limitations of soft materials. Stiffness modulation is an effective means to improve the performance of soft actuators. However, most stiffness-tunable mechanisms are nonstretchable, and have difficulty in independently adjusting the tensile stiffness of soft elongation actuators. Here, a universal cross-fiber jamming mechanism with both elongation and bending stiffness-tunable capability is proposed for soft bellows actuators. It is composed of two semicircular symmetrical fiber bundles in an up-and-down crossed arrangement, and can follow the tensile state of the soft bellows actuator throug Variable stiffness mechanisms provide an effective means to enhance the load-bearing capacity of soft fingers, but due to the lack of stretchability, their assembly position is often limited to the lower surface of soft bending actuators. Here, a Cross-Sliding jamming mechanism with tensile properties is developed to overcome this restriction. The mechanism is integrated on the upper surface of a soft actuator and can be passively stretched as the actuator bends. By changing the assembly position, the defect of rigidity contact between the conventional variable stiffness fingers and the object is solved, and the disturbance caused by the variable stiffness structure to the contact surface du