TALE-teller: Tendon-Actuated Linked Element Robotic Testbed for Investigating Tail Functions

Margaret Zhang, Anvay Pradhan, Zachary Brei, Xiangyun Bu, Xiang Ye, Saima Jamal, Chae Woo Lim, Xiaonan Huang, Talia Moore

Submitted to IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) on Oct 22, 2024

GOALS:

  • Design a modular robotic testbed to explore how tail morphology influences function.
  • Tail design in SolidWorks, manufacturing with 3D printer, silicone compound, actuation with Shape-Memory Alloy (SMA) and motor with position control.
  • Tail Characterization with Motion Capture, Instron testing, data processing and visualization, and FEA/Computation model (Both done by others).
  • Contribution based on ELSEVIER Contributor Roles Taxonomy: Methodology, Software, Validation, Investigation, Data Curation, Writing - Review & Editing, Visualization.

    • Overlaid video of three different tails with two different tendon contraction distances.

    Tails with the same overall length but variable link lengths experience different bending behavior under the same displacement input.

    Tail Design, Materials, and Manufacturing

    TASKS:

    • Testbed housing, fixtures, bones, and joints design in SolidWorks.
    • Shape-Memory Alloy (SMA) actuations.
    • Rotary motor actuations with PID position control.
    • Simple circuitry design
    • Silicone compound molding.

        • Testbed with motors (top three) and SMAs (bottom three).

        Joint Modeling and Characterization

        TASKS:

        • Instron Testing (bend, pull, dogbone).
        • Finite Element Analysis, Computational Model (Both done by others).
        • Figure and video generations.

          • Left: Physical tail segment (Instron testing); Middle: Simulation (Finite Element Analysis); Right: Simulation (computational model).

          Motion Capture

          TASKS:

          • Data collection.
          • Data processing.
          • Data visualization.
          • Data analysis

            • 2x3 grid view of three different physical tails with two different tendon contraction distances.

            Results

            • Tail morphology can affect its mechanics of locomotion and general function.

              • A) Schematic of one joint; B) A combined plot showing the bending behavior and force-displacement curves of the joint during Instron testing (cyan), FEA simulation (red), and computational model deformation (green).

              Empirical and computational model results of tail bending for three distinct tails.

              Media