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Elastic Inflatable Actuators for Soft Robotic Applications

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Gorissen, B 
Reynaerts, D 
Konishi, S 
Yoshida, K 
Kim, J 

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.

Description

Keywords

actuators, anisotropic structures, hydraulic actuators, microactuators, PDMS molding, pneumatic actuators, soft robotics

Journal Title

Advanced Materials

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0935-9648
1521-4095

Volume Title

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell
Sponsorship
This research is supported by the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (FWO), and the European Research Council (ERC starting grant HIENA).