Geometry-Based Customization of Bending Modalities for 3D-Printed Soft Pneumatic Actuators

In this work, we propose a novel type of 3D-printed soft pneumatic actuator that allows geometry-based customization of bending modalities. While motion in the 3-D space has been achieved for several types of soft actuators, only 2-D bending has been previously modeled and characterized within the scope of 3D-printed soft pneumatic actuators. We developed the first type of 3D-printed soft pneumatic actuator, which, by means of the unique feature of customizable cubes at an angle with the longitudinal axis of the structure, is capable of helical motion. Thus, we characterize its mechanical behavior and formulate mathematical and FEA models to validate the experimental results. Variation to the pattern of the inclination angle along the actuator is then demonstrated to allow for complex 3D-bending modalities and the main applications in the fields of object manipulation and wearable robotics are finally discussed.