How can robots act?

How can robots act? This requires the support of a drive system. The existing robot drive system has many shortcomings. In the future, breakthroughs in technology, materials and concepts are needed.

Robot-driven usher in innovation and future development needs to follow three trends

In recent years, with the continuous release of automation needs in all walks of life, robots have gained more and more widespread applications, and in many application fields, we can find that there are obviously more robots with mobility. Whether it is the AGV in the industrial field, the distribution robot in the logistics field, the sweeping robot in the home furnishing field, or the underwater robot in the scientific research field, all of them have obtained unique mobility through different driving technologies.

It seems that for robots in most fields, having mobility has become a basic function, but in fact, it is not easy to realize it. The realization of robot mobility is not only affected by the application environment, robot volume and robot materials, but also by driving technology, driving materials and driving methods. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the action function is a core function.

Among all the above-mentioned influencing factors, the most critical factor is undoubtedly the robot driving factor. To put it in a thousand words, only a robot with a driving system can truly have the ability to move.

The development status of robot drive modes at home and abroad

At present, the driving system of robots at home and abroad has initially formed a certain consensus. In terms of power source, there are no more than hydraulic, pneumatic and electric. The choice of driving materials is electricity, magnetism, oil, steam, etc. Most of the choices are in the driving position. Large robots tend to be driven internally, while micro and special robots are more likely to be driven externally.

The existing three driving methods are suitable for most robots from industrial to service fields, and can basically meet people's daily production and life needs. However, the more significant shortcoming is that the coverage of the three drives is not complete enough. For special robots such as micro robots and soft robots or new robots, they cannot meet the normal drive requirements. At the same time, the three drives themselves have complex structures, insufficient technology, and power. Many shortcomings such as insufficient and high cost.

In view of this, countries are currently working to find more robot driving methods to make up for and enrich the existing methods. It is hoped that through the exploration of new driving methods, on the one hand, it will promote breakthroughs in existing technologies, and on the other hand, make special Robots and new types of robots are capable of action, and will soon be implemented in their respective fields.

The birth of a new type of robot brings new driving inspiration

Today, such exploration has shown value. The research on new robots launched by a research team recently formed by the University of Science and Technology of China, the University of Wollongong and Soochow University in Australia has brought important enlightenment on new driving methods.

It is understood that the new product developed by the joint research group this time is the first functional wheeled robot driven by metal hydraulic pressure in China. The robot is designed into a wheeled structure and uses gallium-based room temperature liquid metal as the driving material and power source. The gallium-based room temperature liquid metal has unique morphological change properties. The application of an external electric field through microelectrodes allows the liquid metal to deform, separate, move, and merge, and finally drive the wheeled robot to move.

At present, the joint research group has applied this technology to microcars, using liquid metal droplets as flexible wheels to carry and drive, and successfully realized the autonomous movement of the car on the plane without any mechanical transmission in the whole process. In the future, the research team believes that the driving technology is expected to be used on micro-robots and effectively land in the medical and health field.

Nowadays, various medical, special operations and military needs continue to increase, and the driving technology of nano-robots and micro-pipe robots is unable to break through. The industry believes that the emergence of this new type of driving technology can improve the traditional robot driving method. Bringing changes can make up for the deficiencies of traditional drive structures such as complex structure, large size and low drive energy efficiency, and promote the rapid development of future micro robots and special robot systems.

The development trend of future robot driving methods

So, in view of the future development trend of robot miniaturization, integration, and intelligence, what new changes and characteristics will the driving mode usher in? The author believes that there are mainly the following three points.

The first is the diversification of materials. The innovation of drive mode not only depends on the development of drive technology, but is also inseparable from the material properties of the power source. The current power source materials are relatively single, such as only a few metals used for power generation. The future exploration of new materials will Greatly enrich the choice of power sources. Different robots can choose more suitable power sources according to different applications and characteristics, which can not only meet the energy efficiency, but also optimize the cost.

The second is energy conservation and environmental protection. The change of traditional power source materials from coal, water vapor, petroleum to electricity, solar energy, natural gas, etc. has initially embodied a trend of energy conservation and environmental protection. In the future, with the further development of my country’s environmental protection industry, the robot industry will require energy conservation and environmental protection. Correspondingly, the driving method will no longer only meet the production needs of improving efficiency and reducing costs, but also meet the environmental protection needs of reducing consumption and emission reduction. In addition, with the rapid development of the medical industry and the continuous enhancement of health awareness, the green safety attributes of the driving method for safety and health considerations will also usher in improvement.

The last is to drive intelligence. With the advancement of robot intelligence requirements, in the future, robots will be driven by manual operation and semi-automatic driving to fully autonomous intelligent driving. On the one hand, the driving technology needs to be improved day by day. On the other hand, it may also need to develop sensors, artificial intelligence and other technologies. , Rely on them to a certain extent.

All in all, the driving method in the future is certainly not static, but change and innovation require the support of new technologies, new materials and new ideas. Now liquid metal driving has already blew the horn of exploration for new driving methods. I believe that more and more With the joint efforts of enterprises and research institutions, robot drive will eventually usher in a qualitative breakthrough.

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