论文标题
形状变化并控制基于压力的软剂
Shape Change and Control of Pressure-based Soft Agents
论文作者
论文摘要
生物剂具有主要是软组织的物体。研究人员诉诸于软体，以调查人工生活（Alife）相关的问题；同样，一个柔软的机器人的新时代才刚刚开始。然而，由于它们的无限自由度，软体身体在模拟，控制和优化方面构成了独特的挑战。在这里，我们提出了一种新型的柔软的代理形式主义，即基于压力的软剂（PSA）：它们是由一系列弹簧和质量包裹的气体，并从体内向质量推动质量。压力赋予了代理的结构，而弹簧和质量模拟了柔软度，并使代理人可以采用大量的形状。驱动是通过改变弹簧的长度或调节全球压力进行的。我们优化了PSA的控制器，用于在丘陵地形上的运动任务和笼子中的逃生任务；后者特别适合柔软的代理，因为它要求该试剂扭曲自己以通过小孔挤压。我们的结果表明，PSA确实在这些任务上有效，并且控制压力对于改变形状是基本的。展望未来，我们设想PSA在包括软机器人和生物细胞在内的软体型剂的建模中发挥作用。进化代理的视频可在https://pressuresoftagents.github.io上找到。
Biological agents possess bodies that are mostly of soft tissues. Researchers have resorted to soft bodies to investigate Artificial Life (ALife)-related questions; similarly, a new era of soft-bodied robots has just begun. Nevertheless, because of their infinite degrees of freedom, soft bodies pose unique challenges in terms of simulation, control, and optimization. Here we propose a novel soft-bodied agents formalism, namely Pressure-based Soft Agents (PSAs): they are bodies of gas enveloped by a chain of springs and masses, with pressure pushing on the masses from inside the body. Pressure endows the agents with structure, while springs and masses simulate softness and allow the agents to assume a large gamut of shapes. Actuation takes place by changing the length of springs or modulating global pressure. We optimize the controller of PSAs for a locomotion task on hilly terrain and an escape task from a cage; the latter is particularly suitable for soft-bodied agents, as it requires the agent to contort itself to squeeze through a small aperture. Our results suggest that PSAs are indeed effective at those tasks and that controlling pressure is fundamental for shape-changing. Looking forward, we envision PSAs to play a role in the modeling of soft-bodied agents, including soft robots and biological cells. Videos of evolved agents are available at https://pressuresoftagents.github.io.
