Computer-assisted design tool for robotic/animatronic elastomeric skin (Bächer).
A computer-assisted method (and a computer system implementing a design tool and skin fabricated according to these designs) for designing elastomeric skin for robots and robotic devices. The skin design tool is configured to facilitate the optimal navigation of the design space spanned by an animatronic or robotic device skin. The skin design tool includes a soft body simulator that is differentiable with respect to control and design parameters, which enables the skin design tool to provide one or more of the following applications: (1) automated identification of an optimal neutral pose for the skin that minimizes peak stresses when the skin is brought into extreme poses; (2) automated optimization of the skin thickness and shape of a skin to meet a time-varying artistic target; and (3) automated optimization of a skin to achieve a desired behavior if the skin is allowed to slide along an underlying rigid shell.
BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Description
The present description relates, in general, to design of artificial skin or skin systems for use with robots and robotic devices such as animatronic (or robotic) heads, and, more particularly, to a system (and associated methods and skin products made according to designs output by such methods) for providing computational-based assistance to a robot or animatronic skin designer to design an elastomeric (or artificial) skin (e.g., a head covering) that in use can achieve targeted skin movements that meet both artistic and mechanical demands. 2. Relevant Background
There are many applications for skins or skin systems that are used to create realistic models of humans, animals, and characters, and, when these skins are combined with robotics (which may also be known as animatronics), a device can be provided that can accurately simulate live beings with similar expressive skin movements. These skins are typically formed of durable materials that are often also flexible and elastic (e.g., elastomers) such as plastic and rubbers so that they can readily move and stretch with underlying robotics (e.g., actuators, drivers, and the like).
Robotics can involve the design and use of robots to provide programmable actuators or drivers to perform tasks, and, more recently, there have been significant demands for robotic devices that simulate humans, animals, and other living beings or characters. These robotic characters are
1. A system for optimizing design of an elastomeric skin for covering a mechanical assembly, comprising: a computing device configured to perform the following: receiving or accessing in memory user input including a definition of the mechanical assembly design and control parameters for the mechanical assembly; receiving or accessing in memory a set of design parameters for a skin, for at least partially covering the mechanical assembly, including material used to fabricate a body of the skin, an initial shape of the body of the skin, and an initial thickness of the body of the skin; and receiving or accessing in memory a target shape of an outer surface of the body of the skin at a predefined time of operations of the mechanical assembly; and a skin design program, running on the computing device, generating an optimized design for the skin by generating an optimized shape of the body and an optimized thickness of the body based on the initial shape and the initial thickness, wherein the optimized shape and the optimized thickness are selected such that the outer surface of the body of the skin substantially matches the target shape at the predefined time during the operations of the mechanical assembly. ||
11. A robot fabricated to include a physical implementation of the mechanical assembly covered by a skin fabricated based on the definition of the optimized design for the skin system of claim ||
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12. A method for optimizing design of an elastomeric skin for covering a mechanical assembly, comprising: with a computing device, receiving or accessing in memory a set of design parameters for a skin system for covering at least a portion of the mechanical assembly; with the computing device, receiving or accessing in memory a target shape of an outer surface of a body of the skin system at a predefined time of operations of the mechanical assembly; with a skin design program running on the computing device, generating an optimized design for the skin system by generating an optimized shape of the body and an optimized thickness of the body, wherein the optimized shape and the optimized thickness are selected such that the outer surface of the body substantially matches the target shape at the predefined time during the operations of the mechanical assembly, wherein the user input further comprises a definition of a set of elastomeric actuation pieces (EAPs) for attaching the body to the mechanical assembly, wherein the definition includes a definition of body shapes and materials for the EAPs along with a location for mounting each of the EAPs on the mechanical assembly, and wherein the EAPs are attached on a first side to the mechanical assembly and have a second side with a recessed surface for receiving a portion of an EAP post extending outward from an inner surface of the body, whereby the EAPs are not integrally bound to the body. ||
17. A computer system for optimizing design of an elastomeric skin for covering a mechanical assembly, comprising: memory storing user input including a definition of the mechanical assembly design and control parameters for the mechanical assembly, wherein the memory further stores a set of design parameters for a skin, for at least partially covering the mechanical assembly, including material used to fabricate a body of the skin, an initial shape of the body of the skin, and an initial thickness of the body of the skin; a graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on a monitor and configured for receiving user input including a target shape of an outer surface of the body of the skin at a predefined time of operations of the mechanical assembly; a skin design program provided by a processor executing code, wherein the skin design program is configured for generating an optimized design for the skin by generating an optimized shape of the body and an optimized thickness of the body based on the initial shape and the initial thickness and wherein the optimized shape and the optimized thickness are selected such that the outer surface of the body of the skin substantially matches the target shape at the predefined time during the operations of the mechanical assembly.