Modeling And Experimental Research On Soft Robotic Actuator Based On Pneumatic Structure

Traditional rigid robots are usually very bulky due to limitations in materials,structure,etc.and are not adaptable to complex environments.Therefore,on the basis of traditional soft pneumatic manipulators and tongs and bionics,humanoid finger type soft actuators containing three independent inflatable actuation cavities is proposed,which mimic the human fingers.Every chamber is inflated and pressurized by an independent intake channel.Soft actuators are fabricated using the 3D printing method and silicone rubber mold method commonly used in the preparation of pneumatic soft robots.Finally,it is found that the soft actuators obtained by silicone rubber mold method perform better.In addition,compared with the traditional single chamber actuated soft actuators,the soft actuators in this study increase the number of chambers to three,and are evenly distributed in the length direction to mimic human finger joints.So the soft actuators in this study can realize multiple movement modes of multi-point bending and fixed-point bending at the same time,which greatly improves the movement complexity and control accuracy of the soft actuator.Therefore,it has important significance and prospects in military,industrial,resource exploration and medical auxiliary equipment.In this study,in order to achieve the best motion state of the soft actuator,that is,the bending angle can be as large as possible while the maximum stress on it is as small as possible.ABAQUS finite element simulation software is used to simulate a one-chamber actuator to study the effects of parameters such as material's arrangement,chamber side view shape,chamber wall thickness,chamber bottom thickness,chamber slope angle and chamber bottom length on the bending performance of soft actuators.Finally,a set of parameters with better performance is obtained.Then,three-chamber soft actuators are designed and assembled on the palm to explore their fingertip motion trajectory and motion range,so as to discuss their grasping effects.Finally,an experimental system is established.After analyzing and comparing the experimental and simulation results,the feasibility of soft actuator design through simulation is ensured.For the balloon effect of soft actuators,the denser winding of fiber threads can significantly reduce this situation and improve the performance of soft actuators.The analysis and research in this paper provides a feasible solution for the realization of more accurate humanoid soft pneumatic manipulators,which develops the feasibility of further research and application,and provides more theoretical and practical foundations.