Elastic Inflatable Actuators for Soft Robotic Applications
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Journal Title
Advanced Materials
ISSN
0935-9648
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Number
1604977
Language
English
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Metadata
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Gorissen, B., Reynaerts, D., Konishi, S., Yoshida, K., Kim, J., & De Volder, M. (2017). Elastic Inflatable Actuators for Soft Robotic Applications. Advanced Materials, (1604977)https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201604977
Abstract
The 20th century’s robotic systems have been made out of stiff materials and much of the developments in the field have pursued ever more accurate and dynamic robots which thrive in industrial automation settings and will probably continue to do so for many decades to come. However, the 21st century’s robotic legacy may very well become that of soft robots. This emerging domain is characterized by continuous soft structures that simultaneously fulfil the role of robotic link and robotic actuator, where prime focus is on design and fabrication of the robotic hardware instead of software control to achieve a desired operation. These robots are anticipated to take a prominent role in delicate tasks where classic robots fail, such as in minimally invasive surgery, active prosthetics and automation tasks involving delicate irregular objects. Central to the development of these robots is the fabrication of soft actuators to generate movement. This paper reviews a particularly attractive type of soft actuators that are driven by pressurized fluids. These actuators have recently gained substantial traction on the one hand due to the technology push from better simulation tools and new manufacturing technologies including soft-lithography and additive manufacturing, and on the other hand by a market pull from the applications listed above. This paper provides an overview of the different advanced soft actuator configurations, their design, fabrication and applications.
Keywords
actuators, anisotropic structures, hydraulic actuators, microactuators, PDMS molding, pneumatic actuators, soft robotics
Sponsorship
This research is supported by the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (FWO), and the European Research Council (ERC starting grant HIENA).
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201604977
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/264220
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