Design and Experiments of Pneumatic Soft Actuators

Li, Ké; Cheng, Guanggui; Zhang, Zhongqiang; Xu, Chu; Ding, Jianning

doi:10.1017/s0263574720001514

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…At the maximum pressure of 1.8 bar, the average maximum elongation and contraction are 39.9% and 27.4%, respectively. The selfsensing IPAM performances are comparable with previous extensible pneumatic muscles (such as [27]), in terms of stroke. In addition, we observed that, upon pressurization, the actuator elongates and slightly rotates, because of the helical arrangement of the reinforcing structure [28].…”

Section: B Electro-mechanical Characterization Of the Ipamsupporting

confidence: 63%

A Self-sensing Inverse Pneumatic Artificial Muscle

Lorenzon

Beccali

Maselli

et al. 2022

2022 IEEE 5th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)

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In recent years, the inverse pneumatic artificial muscles attained great attention in soft robotics, especially for the wider motion range compared to traditional positive pneumatic actuators. Besides self-sensing is a recognized highly desirable property for soft actuators to enable proprioception and to facilitate the soft robots control, a self-sensing strategy for a soft inverse pneumatic muscle was still missing. In this paper, we present the first self-sensing inverse pneumatic artificial muscle in which the reinforcing but compliant element that guides the actuator motion during actuation has not only a mechanical function but, being also electrically conductive, it endows the actuator with self-sensing. Here, the actuator design and manufacturing are described, together with an electromechanical characterization. In addition, we demonstrate its self-sensing capability in a dynamic setting, by predicting the actuator strain from its electric resistance variation, through a calibration model.

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Section: B Electro-mechanical Characterization Of the Ipamsupporting

confidence: 63%

A Self-sensing Inverse Pneumatic Artificial Muscle

Lorenzon

Beccali

Maselli

et al. 2022

2022 IEEE 5th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)

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“…Typical actuators based on pneu-nets are composed of two fundamental parts: an active top (characterized by a series of elastomeric chambers lined up in a row and linked up by a network of air channels) and a passive bottom (a strain-limiting layer which serves to curtail the extension of the active part) [21,32,33]. On the supply of pressure to the actuator, the chambers expand (significantly across the length) and cause the whole structure to bend in the longitudinal direction only.…”

Section: Actuator Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

A herringbone soft pneu-net actuator for enhanced conformal gripping

Zhang

Oseyemi

2021

Robotica

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Advances in material science in recent years have had such a tremendous impact on the field of soft robotics that has fostered the development of many bio-inspired devices. One such device, which has been subject to extensive study in recent times, is soft pneumatic-network (pneu-net) actuators (SPAs). In this study, we present a new SPA structure whose chamber configuration mimics the fish bone (herringbone) structure to facilitate simultaneous bending deformations in both longitudinal and transverse directions. Such as cannot be obtained from the regular pneu-net structure – which bends only lengthwise, the coupled bending curvatures allow for gripping with maximized contact area, a property which facilitates firmness, security, and stability in gripping. Using the corresponding chamber inclination angle of the configuration as key parameter, the combined transverse and longitudinal deformation feature is studied through finite element simulation as well as experiments. Also, the functional behavior of the actuator/gripper prototypes is experimentally investigated using a series of approaches including blocked (or tip) force test, grip strength test, and stability (or sustained grasping force) test. Furthermore, the viability of the said conformal gripping characteristic is demonstrated by subjecting the structure to a couple of gripping tests. This utility-enhancing design approach could really guide into the development of more sophisticated application-custom soft robotic capabilities.

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“…However, when more motions are necessary, this method becomes unpractical due to the complexity of joining more than two actuators. Multiple motions soft actuators have been proposed [19][20][21][22][23][24] considering chambers or at least three independent channels, distributed homogeneously in the body, resulting in motions of elongation and multiple bending and performing deformations from 36 • to less than 160 • [19,[21][22][23][24][25][26] (depending on the angle measurement method). The motion variation depends on the method of measurement, manufacturing material and actuator geometry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and characterisation of a multi-DOF soft pneumatic module

Santacruz-Mondragon,

Sandoval-Castro,

Ibrahim

et al. 2023

Robotica

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Bending and elongation have been some of the most studied motions in soft actuators due to the variety of their applications. For that matter, multi-DOF actuators have been developed with the purpose to generate different movements in a single actuator, mainly bending. However, these actuators are still limited in mobility range, and some of them do not perform continuous curvatures. This paper presents the design, characterisation and implementations of a multi-DOF soft pneumatic module. The internal structure of the proposed module is composed of four channels, which generate bending in several directions. The finite element method analysis demonstrates that the actuator performs continuous curvatures for different pressure values. We present a repeatable and easy manufacturing process using the casting technique, considering the material Ecoflex 00-50; as well as the kinematic model of the actuator, taking into consideration two bending Degrees of Freedom (DOFs). Furthermore, we performed bending characterisation for all possible combinations of the four channels via computer vision, demonstrating a wide mobility range and performing continuous curvatures. Additionally, we evaluated the kinematic model with characterisation data, obtaining the angular and cartesian relationship between the pressure and continuous curvatures. On the other hand, the authors propose the design of a modular soft manipulator based on two multi-DOF modules. The kinematic model is reported. In addition, we implement a motion sequence in the manipulator to pick and place tasks.

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Design and Experiments of Pneumatic Soft Actuators

Cited by 9 publications

References 26 publications

A Self-sensing Inverse Pneumatic Artificial Muscle

A Self-sensing Inverse Pneumatic Artificial Muscle

A herringbone soft pneu-net actuator for enhanced conformal gripping

Design and characterisation of a multi-DOF soft pneumatic module

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