Elastomeric Origami: Programmable Paper‐Elastomer Composites as Pneumatic Actuators

Abstract

The development of soft pneumatic actuators based on composites consisting of elastomers with embedded sheet or fiber structures (e.g., paper or fabric) that are flexible but not extensible is described. On pneumatic inflation, these actuators move anisotropically, based on the motions accessible by their composite structures. They are inexpensive, simple to fabricate, light in weight, and easy to actuate. This class of structure is versatile: the same principles of design lead to actuators that respond to pressurization with a wide range of motions (bending, extension, contraction, twisting, and others). Paper, when used to introduce anisotropy into elastomers, can be readily folded into 3D structures following the principles of origami; these folded structures increase the stiffness and anisotropy of the elastomeric actuators, while being light in weight. These soft actuators can manipulate objects with moderate performance; for example, they can lift loads up to 120 times their weight. They can also be combined with other components, for example, electrical components, to increase their functionality.

Robotic Tentacles with Three‐Dimensional Mobility Based on Flexible Elastomers

“…The spatial distribution of the pneumatic channels-which expand like connected bladders upon pressurizationdetermines the nature of the resulting actuation. [23] For the tentacles we describe here, the pneumatic networks are based on three indistinguishable channels along the longitudinal direction of the tentacle. Combined actuation of these channels generates movement in three dimensions.…”

“…We describe the use of alternative composite materials to avoid bursting of the pneumatic channels in subsequent papers, as well as alternatives to tethering, in other papers. [23,29] Experimental Design of 3D CAD Models: We used software for solid modeling from Alibre Inc.…”

Buckling of Elastomeric Beams Enables Actuation of Soft Machines

“…[4,5] The first generation of these systems-originally sketched by Suzumori, [6][7][8] and then realized and elaborated by us, [5,[9][10][11][12][13] and by others [4] -use pneumatic actuators, comprising networks of micro-channels; in our systems, differential expansion of these pneumatic networks (PneuNets) by pressurization using air produces motions (especially bending, curling, and variants on them) that are already established as useful in grippers, and interesting for their potential in walkers, tentacles, and a number of other soft, actuated systems. [14] 4 Although the design of the first of these systems has been relatively simple, the motion they produce on actuation can be surprisingly sophisticated: for example, a representative structure-the "finger" or "tentacle" of a gripper-curls non-uniformly, starting from its tip and proceeding to its stem, although the pressure applied in the PneuNet is approximately uniform throughout the system of inflatable channels.…”

“…[14] 4 Although the design of the first of these systems has been relatively simple, the motion they produce on actuation can be surprisingly sophisticated: for example, a representative structure-the "finger" or "tentacle" of a gripper-curls non-uniformly, starting from its tip and proceeding to its stem, although the pressure applied in the PneuNet is approximately uniform throughout the system of inflatable channels. [10,11] This motion reflects a non-linear property of soft materials and structures, referred to as a "snapthrough instability". [15][16][17][18][19] Although nonlinear properties of materials are often considered a disadvantage, this type of non-linearity, illustrated by snap-through, and other complex mechanical characteristics of soft systems, are proving to be useful, and to offer new capabilities to effectors, machines, and robots, because they enable a range of motions of sufficient complexity that-although they might be possible to replicate in a hard robotic system [20] -it would be complicated and expensive to do so.…”

Current trends in the development of intelligent unmanned autonomous systems

“…At the University of California, Berkeley, USA, Takei (Shepherd et al, 2011) made electronic skin with silicon, which can feel a 0-15 kPa pressure. At Harvard University, USA, George Whitesides led a research team (Yim et al, 2007;Martinez et al, 2012) that achieved a breakthrough in soft robots, using a different structure in the software allowing the device to grasp hands and have a bionic walking structure.…”