Qiu Zhe, Zhang Shengyang, Xue Yitong, Zhang Yang, Mori Yoshiki, Hirai Shinichi, Kawamura Sadao, Wang Zhongkui
Department of Robotics, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Japan.
Department of Information Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 19;14(1):28681. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-79084-w.
Soft robotics has emerged as a highly promising field, particularly for handling interactions in unstructured environments such as food factories and agricultural warehouses. This potential is largely attributed to the inherent flexibility and compliance of soft robots. A critical aspect in the development of these robots lies in the selection and utilization of appropriate soft actuators and materials. Nevertheless, the modeling of soft robots presents considerable challenges owing to their intricate properties and continuum nature. In this article, we focus on the design and modeling of a three dimensional (3D) printed soft bellows actuator. The primary objective is to assess its efficacy in creating suitable soft grippers for handling various practical products. We propose an empirical model to predict the output forces of the soft bellows actuator. This model comprehensively integrates parameters such as bellows geometry and material properties, thereby providing valuable insights for the actuator's design and control. To ascertain the precision of our model, we conducted a series of finite element simulations considering different designed parameters of the bellows, and performed experimental validations using 3D printed bellows actuators. The empirical model demonstrated high accuracy in predicting the output forces of the bellows actuator, with average absolute and relative errors of N and , respectively. As an application, a robotic gripper with two parallel bellows actuators was developed, and its grasping force was validated using the empirical model. Building on this, a robotic gripper incorporating three bellows actuators was designed and fabricated based on the empirical model, and pick-and-place experiments were effectively conducted for handling a range of products.
软体机器人技术已成为一个极具前景的领域，尤其适用于处理诸如食品工厂和农业仓库等非结构化环境中的交互任务。这种潜力很大程度上归因于软体机器人固有的灵活性和柔顺性。这些机器人开发中的一个关键方面在于合适的软体致动器和材料的选择与应用。然而，由于其复杂的特性和连续体性质，软体机器人的建模面临着相当大的挑战。在本文中，我们专注于三维（3D）打印软体波纹管致动器的设计与建模。主要目标是评估其在制造适用于处理各种实际产品的软体夹具方面的功效。我们提出了一个经验模型来预测软体波纹管致动器的输出力。该模型全面整合了诸如波纹管几何形状和材料特性等参数，从而为致动器的设计和控制提供了有价值的见解。为了确定我们模型的精度，我们针对波纹管的不同设计参数进行了一系列有限元模拟，并使用3D打印的波纹管致动器进行了实验验证。经验模型在预测波纹管致动器的输出力方面显示出高精度，平均绝对误差和相对误差分别为N和 。作为一个应用实例，开发了一种带有两个平行波纹管致动器的机器人夹具，并使用经验模型验证了其抓取力。在此基础上，基于经验模型设计并制造了一种包含三个波纹管致动器的机器人夹具，并有效地进行了一系列用于处理多种产品的取放实验。
