A soft robotic fluidic transmission system

Soft pneumatic actuators are powerful, relatively easy to control, and becoming popular due to their embodied intelligence. Studies have shown that geometrical design and material properties can affect their behavior significantly. Here we introduce a soft fluidic transmission system that is inspired by pouch motors. By developing these structures, we are interested in pumping higher flows at lower pressures by actuating the system at lower flows and higher pressures. In other words, we would like to achieve a flow transmission ratio higher than one. we started by investigating the effect of geometries and material elasticity on pouch motors functionality to optimize their design. We designed and conducted mechanical tests on different groups of the pouch motors with different geometries and material properties to characterize them. We have also developed analytical models to simulate and predict the behavior of the system, which we are currently validating using experimental samples fabricated from a range of different materials. Ultimately, we are interested in determining if we can control the behavior of soft actuators using higher pressures and lower flows generated, e.g., by hydraulic pumps or chemical reactions, to potentially decrease the size of the control system.