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Journal ArticleDOI

Design of a Biomimetic Skin for an Octopus-Inspired Robot – Part II: Development of the Skin Artefact

01 Sep 2011-Journal of Bionic Engineering (Elsevier)-Vol. 8, Iss: 3, pp 297-304
TL;DR: In this paper, a skin artefact for an octopus-inspired robot arm, which is designed to elongate 60% of its original length, silicone rubber and knitted nylon sheet were selected to manufacture an artificial skin, due to their higher elastic strain and high flexibility.
About: This article is published in Journal of Bionic Engineering.The article was published on 2011-09-01. It has received 9 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Artificial skin.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results indicate that minimal additions of PCL can be blended with collagen to produce scaffolds suitable for tissue engineering of human skin, however, the increase in scaffold strength with higher PCL concentrations did not result in significantly stronger ES, indicating that high cell viability and proper development of the epidermis are important factors for developing ES with high strength.
Abstract: Engineered human skin is commonly fabricated using collagen scaffolds that often have poor mechanical properties. To improve the strength of collagen-based scaffolds, poly(caprolactone) (PCL) was blended with collagen and formed into submicron fibers using electrospinning. At concentrations < 10% PCL (M(PCL)/[M(Collagen) + M(PCL)] x 100), the PCL component was evenly distributed within the collagen matrix. Increasing the PCL component to 30% caused separation of the collagen and PCL phases forming local domains of PCL within the collagen matrix. Tensile testing indicated that 10-100% PCL concentrations significantly improved the strength and stiffness of the acellular scaffolds. Engineered skin (ES) made with blended collagen-PCL at a concentration of up to 10% PCL did not significantly alter the stratification of the cells, cell proliferation, or epidermal differentiation compared to the 100% collagen group. Ultimate tensile strength of ES fabricated with the collagen-PCL blends was not significantly greater than that of ES made with 100% collagen scaffolds (0% PCL). The 30% PCL group had the least amount of mechanical strength likely caused by poor epidermal formation and reduced cell viability. These results indicate that minimal additions of PCL can be blended with collagen to produce scaffolds suitable for tissue engineering of human skin. However, the increase in scaffold strength with higher PCL concentrations did not result in significantly stronger ES, indicating that high cell viability and proper development of the epidermis are important factors for developing ES with high strength.

253 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A hybrid configuration and manipulation of space soft robots for future research are proposed based on the current development of soft robotics, and some challenges are discussed.
Abstract: Soft robots refer to robots that are softer and more flexible when compared with conventional rigid-bodied robots. Soft robots are adapted to unstructured environments due to their flexibility, deformability and energy-absorbing properties. Thus, they have tremendous application prospects in on-orbit servicing (OOS). This study discusses the configuration and manipulation of soft robotics. Usually, learning from living beings is used to develop the configurations of most soft robots. In this study, typical soft robots are introduced based on what they mimic. The discussion of manipulation is divided into two parts, namely actuation and control. The study also involves describing and comparing several types of actuations. Studies on the control of soft robots are also reviewed. In this study, potential application of soft robotics for on-orbit servicing is analyzed. A hybrid configuration and manipulation of space soft robots for future research are proposed based on the current development of soft robotics, and some challenges are discussed.

30 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Biomechanical properties of squid suckers were studied to provide inspiration for the development of sucker artefacts for a robotic octopus and the final design of suckers has been implemented to the arm skin prototypes.

22 citations

Proceedings ArticleDOI
14 May 2012
TL;DR: An integrated skin prototype with embedded deformable sensors and attached suckers developed for the arm of an octopus inspired robot is presented.
Abstract: soft skin artefacts made of knitted nylon reinforced silicon rubber were fabricated mimicking octopus skin. A combination of ecoflex 0030 and 0010 were used as matrix of the composite to obtain the right stiffness for the skin artefacts. Material properties were characterised using static uniaxial tension and scissors cutting tests. Two types of tactile sensors were developed to detect normal contact; one used quantum tunnelling composite materials and the second was fabricated from silicone rubber and a conductive textile. Sensitivities of the sensors were tested by applying different modes of loading and the soft sensors were incorporated into the skin prototype. Passive suckers were developed and tested against squid suckers. An integrated skin prototype with embedded deformable sensors and attached suckers developed for the arm of an octopus inspired robot is also presented.

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a new process based on mechanical properties measured from real octopus skin was developed to fabricate a biomimetic skin for an octopus-inspired robot, which was used to cover the robotic arm unit.

3 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
21 Feb 2007-Nature
TL;DR: In the laboratory, the use of tissue-engineered skin provides insight into the behaviour of skin cells in healthy skin and in diseases such as vitiligo, melanoma, psoriasis and blistering disorders.
Abstract: Tissue-engineered skin is now a reality. For patients with extensive full-thickness burns, laboratory expansion of skin cells to achieve barrier function can make the difference between life and death, and it was this acute need that drove the initiation of tissue engineering in the 1980s. A much larger group of patients have ulcers resistant to conventional healing, and treatments using cultured skin cells have been devised to restart the wound-healing process. In the laboratory, the use of tissue-engineered skin provides insight into the behaviour of skin cells in healthy skin and in diseases such as vitiligo, melanoma, psoriasis and blistering disorders.

1,005 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The means by which muscular-hydrostats produce elongation, shortening, bending and torsion are discussed.

785 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results demonstrated that patients with chronic diabetic foot ulcers of >6 weeks duration experienced a significant clinical benefit when treated with Dermagraft versus patients treated with conventional therapy alone.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE —To determine if a human fibroblast–derived dermal substitute could promote the healing of diabetic foot ulcers. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —A randomized, controlled, multicenter study was undertaken at 35 centers throughout the U.S. and enrolled 314 patients to evaluate complete wound closure by 12 weeks. Patients were randomized to either the Dermagraft treatment group or control (conventional therapy). Except for the application of Dermagraft, treatment of study ulcers was identical for patients in both groups. All patients received pressure-reducing footwear and were allowed to be ambulatory during the study. RESULTS —The results demonstrated that patients with chronic diabetic foot ulcers of >6 weeks duration experienced a significant clinical benefit when treated with Dermagraft versus patients treated with conventional therapy alone. With regard to complete wound closure by week 12, 30.0% (39 of 130) of Dermagraft patients healed compared with 18.3% (21 of 115) of control patients ( P = 0.023). The overall incidence of adverse events was similar for both the Dermagraft and control groups, but the Dermagraft group experienced significantly fewer ulcer-related adverse events. CONCLUSIONS —The data from this study show that Dermagraft is a safe and effective treatment for chronic diabetic foot ulcers.

632 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The present freeze-drying procedure is a bio-clean method for formulating biodegradable sponges of different pore structures without use of any additives and organic solvents and suggests that the porosity of dried hydrogels can be controlled by the size of ice crystals formed during freezing.

603 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The biomimetic NF-gelatin/apatite scaffolds are excellent for bone tissue engineering and show excellent biocompatibility and mechanical stability.

485 citations

Trending Questions (1)
How many robotic arms does Doctor Octopus have?

Results show that the skin artefact developed has similar mechanical properties as the real octopus skin and satisfies all the design specifications of the OCTOPUS robot.