Experimental Characterisation of Hydraulic Fiber-Reinforced Soft Actuators for Worm-Like Robots

This article describes the design and fabrication of fiber-reinforced soft actuators for a worm-like robot designed to operate inside constrained tubes. The actuators include bending, extension and torsion. These actuators are experimentally characterised by measuring the deflection versus applied pressure. The results demonstrate that fiber wrapping pattern, geometry of cross-section and elastomer selection are the main determinants of performance. The actuators under consideration are employed to construct a soft worm-like robot capable of ascending a pipe. This class of applications includes steerable catheters, endoscopes and pipe inspection devices.