An Optimum Design Method of Pneu‐Net Actuators for Trajectory Matching Utilizing a Bending Model and GA

Abstract

This study addresses the problem in designing pneu-net actuators to achieve specific target trajectories for particular applications. The finite element analysis (FEA) method is used to study the sensitivity of 9 design parameters to bending deformation of actuators, and the results of FEA demonstrate that the width of the chamber and the width of the middle layer have great influence on the bending performance. Besides, the relations between the bending angles of actuators with different width parameters and the pressure are always highly linear. Using FEA and the cubic polynomial fitting algorithm, a unified bending model of the pneu-net actuator is established with three crucial design parameters (i.e., segment length, chamber width, and middle-layer width). An optimum design method based on the bending model and genetic algorithm (GA) is put forward to automatically adjust these three crucial parameters to realise trajectory matching. The method is developed to be an effective solution for the problem in matching the target trajectory with the experimental results achieved on an actuator designed by imitating a human index finger. Furthermore, the results of the experiment also verify that the actuator can achieve stable grasping, and the proposed method has an important directive to design pneu-net actuators for their application in the fields of robotics, rescue, and detection.

Geometrical and Structural parameters Investigation of an Inclined Air Pillow for Soft Pneumatic Actuator

“…Pneu-net actuators are designed to reach unique target trajectories for specific applications, and the sensitivity of nine parameters to actuator bending deformation has been investigated. We can notice that the influence of the chamber and middle-layer width parameters on the actuators bending performance are more critical than those of other parameters [11] [12]. Recently, the area of soft robotics has become increasingly relevant due to their characteristics: (a) they are safe for human interaction; (b) they are also affordable to be manufactured; (c) they are easy and simple to be fabricated; (d) they are theoretically simpler to actuate and operate; and (e) they have a minimal footprint [14] [9].…”

3D/4D-printed bending-type soft pneumatic actuators: fabrication, modelling, and control

“…The deflection of 3D/4D-printed SPAs is highly dependent on the design parameters of the chambers, including bellow gap, width, and wall thickness, and bottom layer thickness (Auysakul et al 2020;Demir et al ;Sun et al 2019). These relations have been studied earlier and the effects of these parameters are shown in Fig.…”

“…The authors discussed that the cross-section ratio of SPAs could be optimized over the same length depending on the applications to obtain optimal curvature for grasping different objects. A genetic algorithm (GA) optimization method was also used to find the optimum design of the actuator for the target task of grasping (Sun et al 2019). A blend of analytical and FE modeling was proposed to design a SPA that matches the target trajectory by adjusting the design parameters (Sun et al 2019).…”

“…A genetic algorithm (GA) optimization method was also used to find the optimum design of the actuator for the target task of grasping (Sun et al 2019). A blend of analytical and FE modeling was proposed to design a SPA that matches the target trajectory by adjusting the design parameters (Sun et al 2019).…”

A herringbone soft pneu-net actuator for enhanced conformal gripping

“…1), particularly the wall thickness, the chamber height, and the overall length of the structure (or number of pneu-nets) -are significant to its performance. Diverse responses can be obtained from actuator by altering or combining these parameters in different forms [28,31,34]. In this work, we adopt an unprecedented parameter, the chamber inclination angle (CIA), θ , for the study of the functional behavior of the structure.…”