Dynamic model of an online programmable textile soft actuator

• Published in: 2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft) pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Dellinger, Ludwig, Nassour, John, Cheng, Gordon
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 03-04-2023
• Subjects: Actuators; Aerodynamics; Aerospace electronics; DC motors; End effectors; Kinematics; Soft robotics
• ISSN: 2769-4534
• DOI: 10.1109/RoboSoft55895.2023.10121944

Soft actuators exhibiting versatile behaviors have potential applications in robotics. This paper proposes kinematics, kinetics, and dynamic models of an online-programmable soft actuator. The actuator is composed of four strings and an inflatable textile tube folded inside a housing structure. Each string is controlled by a single DC motor which has an optical encoder. Pulling a string produces bending in one direction, while pulling the four strings in a coordinated manner produces additional motions. With the proposed forward and inverse kinematic model, the actuator was able to follow a desired end-effector trajectory in the Cartesian space. Furthermore, due to the dynamic model, our simulation study shows that the soft actuator can handle external force changes at the end-effector, such as mass changes and friction forces.