49 / 2019-06-30 14:59:47

Prospective and Development of Bionic Mechanical Interfaces

interface design,mechanical interface,bionic design

全体主题 > Design and fabrication of biological systems

In engineering, interface plays an essential role in integration and connection of different functional components and modules into the final product and system [1,2]. Since the performance and function in advanced mechanical products, such as medical apparatus and instruments, rehabilitation devices, wearable devices, and flexible robots, are usually coupled with their interfaces. Interfaces require better functionalities such as environmental or functional adaptability [3,4], soft connection [5,6], and variable stiffness [7,8]. In addition, soft components may be required to be connected by interfaces [9, 10]. However, traditional mechanical interfaces are difficult to meet these requirements.
Many mechanical interfaces with unique characteristics are observed in the biological world, such as skeleton joints, cheetah joints, shell interfaces, and leaf-branch interfaces. These interfaces are valuable resources for the design and development of mechanical interfaces with better functionalities and performance.
By a survey of existing literature, this work aims to provide the concept and characteristics of bionic mechanical interfaces. Key issues of bionic mechanical interfaces are summarized. Research opportunities and challenges of bionic mechanical interfaces are also discussed.