The Fluid Jacobian: Modeling force-motion relationships in fluid-driven soft robots

In this paper, we introduce the concept of the Fluid Jacobian, which provides a description of the power transmission that operates between the fluid and mechanical domains in soft robotic systems. It can be understood as a generalization of the traditional kinematic Jacobian that relates the joint space torques and velocities to the task space forces and velocities of a robot. In a similar way, the Fluid Jacobian relates fluid pressure to task space forces and fluid flow to task space velocities. In addition, the Fluid Jacobian can also be regarded as a generalization of the piston cross-sectional area in a fluid-driven cylinder that extends to complex geometries and multiple dimensions. In the following, we present a theoretical derivation of this framework, focus on important special cases, and illustrate the meaning and practical applicability of the Fluid Jacobian in four brief examples.

Automated summary

This paper introduces the concept of the Fluid Jacobian, which describes the power transmission between the fluid and mechanical domains in soft robotic systems. It demonstrates that the Fluid Jacobian is a generalization of the traditional kinematic Jacobian and can relate fluid pressure and flow to task space forces and velocities. The paper also provides theoretical derivations, focuses on special cases, and illustrates the practical applicability of the Fluid Jacobian through examples.