Characterization of bending balloon actuators

Abstract

The emerging field of soft robotics often relies on soft actuators powered by pressurized fluids to obtain a variety of movements. Strategic incorporation of soft actuators can greatly increase the degree of freedom of soft robots thereby bestowing them with a range of movements. Balloon actuators are extensively used to achieve various motions such as bending, twisting, and expanding. A detailed understanding of how material properties and architectural designs of balloon actuators influence their motions will greatly enable the application of these soft actuators. In this study, we developed a framework involving experimental and theoretical analyses, including computational analysis, delineating material and geometrical parameters of balloon actuators to their bending motions. Furthermore, we provide a simple analytical model to predict and control the degree of bending of these actuators. The described analytical tool could be used to predict the actuating function of balloon actuators and thereby help generate optimal actuators for functions which require control over the extent and direction of actuation.

A review of worm-like pipe inspection robots: research, trends and challenges

“…The robot developed by Lim et al can achieve high-speed motion reaching 50 mm•s -1 attained in a 16 mm pipe, which is significantly smaller than the pipes used in the study of Yamamoto et al although unlike this robot it can only perform one directional motion [58] . Gilbertson et al made an inchworm robot driven by hydraulics, similar to the study of Lim et al [59,60] ; the robot is driven using only one supply line; however, in this case, the supply is water. Gilbertson et al use passive valves that release water into the next chamber when a certain pressure threshold is reached managing a speed of 13.5 mm•s -1 [60] .…”

“…Gilbertson et al made an inchworm robot driven by hydraulics, similar to the study of Lim et al [59,60] ; the robot is driven using only one supply line; however, in this case, the supply is water. Gilbertson et al use passive valves that release water into the next chamber when a certain pressure threshold is reached managing a speed of 13.5 mm•s -1 [60] .…”