3D Printed Soft Robotic Actuator With Embedded Strain Sensing For Position Estimation

This work shows the development and characterization of a fully 3D printed pneumatic soft robotic actuator with embedded strain gauges to estimate the bending angle of the actuator. The actuator was printed in one go using a multi material Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) printer. By taking the difference of the reading of two integrated strain gauges, printed using carbon doped TPU, a strong linear relation
$(R^{2}=0.97)$
between the bending angle and sensor output is achieved.