Design Space Exploration and Performance Evaluation of a Multi-Chamber, Multi-Curvature Soft Actuator for Robotic Applications

Ansari Usama, Asokan Thondiyath

2025

Abstract

Soft actuators are finding wide applications in robotics due to the compliance they offer in handling delicate objects. The design of soft actuators is challenging due to the fragile nature of the materials used and the difficulty of fabricating them. Also, soft actuators must be designed to achieve the desired bending performance that suits the application. This paper presents the design and analysis of a multi-chamber, multi-curvature soft actuator for robotic gripping applications. This design combines two different configurations to get the desired bending curvature of the actuator. Modeling of the actuator and analysis of the effect of various design parameters on the bending angle and the tip force are presented. Prototype fabrication and experimental results are also presented. The results confirm that it is possible to custom-design soft actuators to meet specific performance requirements through design synthesis.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Usama A. and Thondiyath A. (2025). Design Space Exploration and Performance Evaluation of a Multi-Chamber, Multi-Curvature Soft Actuator for Robotic Applications. In Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: ICINCO; ISBN 978-989-758-770-2, SciTePress, pages 116-127. DOI: 10.5220/0013777000003982

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icinco25,
author={Ansari Usama and Asokan Thondiyath},
title={Design Space Exploration and Performance Evaluation of a Multi-Chamber, Multi-Curvature Soft Actuator for Robotic Applications},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: ICINCO},
year={2025},
pages={116-127},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013777000003982},
isbn={978-989-758-770-2},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: ICINCO
TI - Design Space Exploration and Performance Evaluation of a Multi-Chamber, Multi-Curvature Soft Actuator for Robotic Applications
SN - 978-989-758-770-2
AU - Usama A.
AU - Thondiyath A.
PY - 2025
SP - 116
EP - 127
DO - 10.5220/0013777000003982
PB - SciTePress