3D-printed passive bellow actuator for portable soft wearable robots

Abstract

The compliance of soft wearable robots driven by fluids is high, but their portability and controllability are limited due to complex fluidic systems. On the other hand, tendon-driven soft wearable robots are compact and easy to control, but they have lower compliance when actively interacting with unknown environments. To address this trade-off between compliance and controllability, we propose a novel actuator design for soft wearable robots, named the passive bellow actuator (PBA). The PBA is 3D-printed using elastic materials, which enables it to be easily customized into various shapes and sizes. When tendons running through the PBA are pulled, it contracts and preserves elastic potential energy. When the tendons are released, the PBA extends like a spring and exerts the stored elastic energy to drive the human body. Additionally, programmable deformation can be easily achieved by adjusting the thickness of the PBA chamber. By utilizing these effects, the PBA can be used to assist human flexion and extension movements. We developed a portable soft robotic glove to demonstrate the feasibility of the PBA. The glove is light weight, power safe, and is inherently compliant when grasping irregular objects. Theoretical modeling and experimental tests were conducted to characterize the PBA, and experimental tests were conducted to demonstrate the performance of the soft robotic gloves.