Operation of a pneumatic soft manipulator using a wearable interface with flexible strain sensors

Humanoids’ Feet: State-of-the-Art & Future Directions

“…Indeed, thanks to their adaptability to uneven terrain and intrinsic safety the introduction of soft materials offers the possibility to overcome many issues inherent in conventional robots. Works in this area are also often inspired by animals such as octopus [101,102], benthic animals [103], geckos or inchworms [104]. Geckos are the largest animals capable of performing unassisted vertical hikes.…”

“…Finally, the dry adhesive material provides strong adhesion. The octopus is one of the most studied animals in soft robotics [101,102]. Indeed, the muscle in its arm provides everything output Bipedal robot feet: state of the art and future directions 21 necessary for moving.…”

“…Most of these robots use soft materials for actuation. For example, shape memory alloy (SMA) wires [104], fabric reinforced textile actuators (FRTA) [108], dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) generate compression loads by performing morphing of the shape [110] or McKibben artificial muscles [101]. Pressurized chambers make up the limbs of the robot which, if implemented with a given sequence, can activate the walking gait [103].…”

“…Inspired by natural muscles, a challenge in modern robotics is the development of autonomous soft actuators. Some of these are already used in the development of robot hands [101,108] and in the near future, they could be used on robotic feet. Soft materials could be included in the robotic foot structure, since they offer several advantages also in the field of locomotion.…”

“…This behavior is particularly useful for walking systems, since a soft actuator can bend to various shapes that would require many joints to replicate rigidly. Moreover, following the idea of human-like performance, some soft actuators can contract like human muscles by applying pressure [81,101,103,108].…”