Abstract
In this paper, the design and testing of a novel valve for the intuitive spatial control of soft or continuum manipulators are presented. The design of the valve is based on the style of a hydraulic flapper valve, but with simultaneous control of three pressure feed points, which can be used to drive three antagonistically arranged hydraulic actuators for positioning soft robots. The variable control orifices are arranged in a rotationally symmetric radial pattern to allow for an inline mounting configuration of the valve within the body of a manipulator. Positioning the valve ring at various 3D configurations results in different pressurizations of the actuators and corresponding spatial configurations of the manipulator. The design of the valve is suitable for miniaturization and use in applications with size constraints such as small soft manipulators and surgical robotics. Experimental validation showed that the performance of the valve can be reasonably modeled and can effectively drive an antagonistic arrangement of three actuators for soft manipulator control.
Highlights
The use of soft robotic manipulators has been explored for many applications where the inherently compliant nature of the device provides improved functionality
Some interesting examples include graspers and minimally invasive surgical tools [1,2], where a common theme emerges in the need for the delicate handling of breakable objects or human tissues. When it comes to the control of soft manipulators, there are a wide variety of techniques, with electroactive polymers or pneumatic power being common and, to a lesser extent, emerging devices based on hydraulic power [3,4,5,6,7]
There exists a gap between conventional fluidics at the meso-scale and the techniques of traditional microfluidics at the micro-scale that includes the type of high pressure–low flow rate fluid power components that would be necessary for the application of hydraulic power to use in soft robotics [8,9,10]
Summary
The use of soft robotic manipulators has been explored for many applications where the inherently compliant nature of the device provides improved functionality. There exists a gap between conventional fluidics at the meso-scale (mm to cm) and the techniques of traditional microfluidics at the micro-scale (μm to mm) that includes the type of high pressure–low flow rate fluid power components that would be necessary for the application of hydraulic power to use in soft robotics [8,9,10] This is true in surgical robotics where anatomical size constraints can restrict devices to the millimeter scale [11,12,13]. A summary of the findings, Section 6, and a description of future improvements, Section 7, is included
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