3D Printable soft robotic actuators with programmable origami-inspired frameworks

Abstract

Robotic systems are permeating deep into human life; with the introduction of rehabilitation, personal robots, etc., they are more integrated with us than ever before. To make this engagement innocuous and beneficial, the development of soft robotic technologies is imperative, among which construction of the soft actuators is most crucial. The current thesis presents new classes of programmable soft actuators inspired by origami design principles. In the first part of the thesis, a flexible rotary actuator inspired by the Yoshimura origami crease pattern is introduced. The design parameters and their relationship are established in order to make the structure customizable. For ensuring robust working, the design of the actuator is further analyzed in terms of fabrication quality and functionality. Additive manufacturing methods aka 3D printing, are implemented to present a highly accessible design that can be rapidly prototyped. Finally, various applications demonstrating the proposed functionality of the actuator are constructed, including grippers, quadruped. Also, experiments are conducted to characterize the performance of the actuator. To further exploit the multi-directional mobility property of origami, the second part of the thesis presents the design and development of a bi-directional actuator inspired by origami tubes. An intuitive design methodology is proposed to program the structure as per requirements. By coalescing tubes in a specific spatial arrangement, controllable motion is achieved in two orthogonal directions. For the adaptation of this idea in actual applications, fabrication processes are discussed with material selection and surface quality survey. 3D printing technologies are utilized to ensure large-scale adaptability and easy access. Experiments are done for performance characterization and evaluating parameters such as applied force, step response, etc. Finally, to demonstrate the potential of the bi-directional actuator as a vital component for soft robots, a crawling robot design and an orthogonal platform concept is presented.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Supervisor	Michael Yu WANG (Supervisor)