Abstract:
In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and evaluation of robust, fabric-reinforced textile actuators capable of performing a variety and combination of motions, such as axial extension, radial expansion, bending, and twisting along its central axis. The simplistic fabrication procedure using a combination of lamination and sewing is described. The relationship between the fabric reinforcement characteristics and the actuator deformation is studied and experimentally verified. Multi-segmented actuators can be created by tailoring different sections of fabric-reinforcements together in order to generate a combination of motions to perform specific tasks. We demonstrate this by designing and providing preliminary evaluation of an anthropomorphic soft robotic hand capable of grasping daily living objects of various size and shapes.