Design and modeling of a soft bending actuator

Compared with traditional “rigid” robots, soft robots inspired by biology have been of particular interest to the robotic communities due to their inherent compliance and safety. However, the actuation and control of the soft actuators for such soft robotics are still lacking of theoretical investigation. For these issues, a pneumatic actuator was designed to achieve compliant motions for use in soft robots. The mathematical model was then developed based on the analysis of its structure and bending principle utilizing the geometric analysis and the principle of virtual work. The model were finally validated by finite element model and prototype experiments, and can be used for the future design and control of soft robotic actuators.