Journal
SOFT ROBOTICS
Volume 7, Issue 1, Pages 44-58Publisher
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC
DOI: 10.1089/soro.2018.0118
Keywords
soft material robotics; bio-inspired robot; fluid-driven actuator; continuum robot
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Funding
- Croucher Foundation
- Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong [17202317, 17227616, 27209515]
- Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong [UIM/353]
- National Research Foundation of Korea [NRF-2016R1A5A1938472]
- Natural Science Foundation of China [U1613202]
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Muscular hydrostats have long been a source of inspiration for soft robotic designs. With their inherent compliance, they excel in unpredictable environments and can gently manipulate objects with ease. However, their performance lacks where high force or a fast-dynamic response is needed. In this study, we propose a novel spring reinforced actuator (SRA) that explores the intermediate state between muscular hydrostats and endoskeletal mechanisms. The result is that we dramatically enhance the robot dynamic performance, which is unprecedented in similar kinds of soft robots, while retaining compliant omnidirectional bending. Analytical modeling of the flexible backbone was built and experimentally validated. This is also the first attempt to perform detailed finite element analysis to investigate the strain-stress behavior of the constraining braided bellow tube. The braided interweaving threads are modeled, in which complex thread-to-thread contacts occur. Experimental evaluation of SRAs was performed for actuation force, stiffness, and dynamic response. We showcase the enhanced actuator's performance in several applications such as locomotion and heavy object manipulation.
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