High-speed and Low-energy Actuation for Pneumatic Soft Robots With Internal Exhaust Air Recirculation
Miao Feng
Robotics Institute, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China., State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Corresponding Author:fengmiao@sjtu.edu.cn
Author ProfileDezhi Yang
Robotics Institute, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China., State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Author ProfileGuoying Gu
Robotics Institute, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China., State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China., Meta Robotics Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Abstract
Multi-chamber soft pneumatic actuators (m-SPAs) have been widely used in soft robotic systems to achieve versatile grasping and locomotion. However, existing m-SPAs have slow actuation speed and are either limited by a finite air supply or require energy-consuming hardware to continuously supply compressed air. Here, we address these shortcomings by introducing an internal exhaust air recirculation (IEAR) mechanism for high-speed and low-energy actuation of m-SPAs. This mechanism recirculates the exhaust compressed air and recovers the energy by harnessing the rhythmic actuation of multiple chambers. We develop a theoretical model to guide the analysis of the IEAR mechanism, which agrees well with the experimental results. Comparative experimental results of several sets of m-SPAs show that our IEAR mechanism significantly improves the actuation speed by more than 82.4% and reduces the energy consumption per cycle by more than 47.7% under typical conditions. We further demonstrate the promising applications of the IEAR mechanism in various pneumatic soft machines and robots such as a robotic fin, fabric-based finger, and quadruped robot.
