Jun Zhang: Lightweight and powerful wearable assistive robotics
Title
Lightweight and powerful wearable assistive robotics
Mentor
Department
Biosketch
Jun Zhang, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Βι¶ΉΣ³». His research interests lie in the intersection of control theory, robotics, and artificial muscles. In particular, he is interested in design, modeling, and control of artificial muscles with applications to soft robots and assistive robots. Artificial muscles are compliant materials or structures that can generate shape changes under external stimuli. They are advantageous over rigid actuators like electric motors in many aspects due to their inherent compliance. Soft robots are ideal to operate in unstructured and human environments due to their soft robot materials and compliant actuators. Wearable robots can enhance the quality of life in numerous scenarios, such as assisting in everyday tasks and rehabilitation purposes.
Zhang is broadly interested in developing high-performance artificial muscles and obtaining generalizable, elegant, and precise modeling and control for artificial muscles. Zhang’s group is currently focusing on twisted and coiled string artificial muscles, whose actuation is realized by twisting and coiling a pair of loaded strings. In soft robotics, Zhang is especially interested in developing and employing agile soft robots to complete unconventional tasks, where it is impossible to realize if only rigid robots are used. Zhang’s group is currently focusing on developing soft robotic manipulators and grippers. In wearable robotics, Zhang is interested in developing effective and comfortable wearable devices by employing artificial muscle technologies. Zhang’s group is currently working on robotic glove and wrist devices for assistance and resistance.
Project overview
Recently, interests have grown rapidly to obtain wearable assistive robots used as function augmentation for an able-bodied person or rehabilitation for patients with physical impairments. Compared to assistive robots using passive spring-like elements for energy storage and release, assistive robots using powered actuators show much stronger adaptability and effectiveness in real environments. An important challenge is to obtain assistive robots that are lightweight, comfort, and simple to use, yet powerful enough to produce sufficiently fast and large assistance to wearers. Existing assistive robots are predominantly actuated by electric motors. As a result, they are rigid, bulky, and potentially dangerous. Artificial muscles are compliant materials and structures that can change their shapes under stimuli without complex linkages, and they have been adopted for inherently safe and compact assistive robots. However, artificial muscles often show evident performance limitations.
In this project, the student will work with an assistive robotic glove and wrist orthosis system available in the Smart Robotics Lab to explore different configurations of emerging artificial muscles as the robotic actuator system. The student will research the most appropriate high-performance artificial muscles that can achieve lightweight and powerful assistive robotics. The student will design and optimize the assistive robot in terms of overall assistive capability, size, weight, compliance, and comfort to wear. Finally, the student will develop and implement a control strategy for the assistive robot to produce the desired assistance, such that a passive robot hand can be enabled to grasp everyday objects.
Pack Research Experience Program information and application