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Controlled actuation, adhesion, and stiffness in soft robots: A review

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Abstract

Rigid robotic grippers are not capable of self-adjusting their grip size based on any real-time changes in the dimensions of the target object. This problem of self-adjustment can be addressed by soft robotic grippers. In the past few decades, new methods, and techniques to develop and control soft actuators have been explored by researchers worldwide. Soft robotic grippers can be categorized into three technologies which are controlled actuation, controlled adhesion, and controlled stiffness. Using these three technologies soft robots can mimic the morphology of the gripping and locomotion mechanisms of various animals. This study is aimed to present an introductory review for researchers who want to explore the field of soft robotics. While previous reports focussed on granular jamming structures to control stiffness, the present study emphasized laminar jamming structures and discussed the recent soft actuators developed using these structures. It was observed that soft actuators with a longitudinal strain like mckibben and peano HASEL exert high forces compared to bending actuators. Also, sandwiched laminar jammers can generate greater stiffness compared to homogeneous laminar jammers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, Maharaja Agrasen University, Baddi, 174 103, India

    Kunal Singh

  2. Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, Maharaja Agrasen University, Baddi, 174 103, India

    Shilpa Gupta

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Kunal Singh: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing—original draft, Writing – review editing; Shilpa Gupta: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review editing, Supervision.

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Singh, K., Gupta, S. Controlled actuation, adhesion, and stiffness in soft robots: A review. J Intell Robot Syst 106, 59 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-022-01754-6

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