Slit Tubes for Semisoft Pneumatic Actuators

• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201704446
• Publication Date: 2018-01-15T11:14:37Z
• Authors: Lee Belding; Bilge Baytekin; Hasan Tarik Baytekin; Philipp Rothemund; Mohit S. Verma; Alex Nemiroski; Dan Sameoto; Bartosz A. Grzybo...; George M. Whitesides
• Keywords: Pneumatic actuator; Slit; Pneumatic artificial muscles; Soft Robotics

This article describes a new principle for designing soft or 'semisoft' pneumatic actuators: SLiT (for SLit-in-Tube) actuators. Inflating an elastomeric balloon, when enclosed by external shell (a material with higher Young's modulus) containing slits of different directions and lengths, produces variety motions, including bending, twisting, contraction, elongation. The requisite pressure actuation depends on the length slits, this dependence allows sequential controlling applied pressure. Different actuators can also be controlled using "sliders" that act as reprogrammable "on-off" switches. A arm walker constructed from demonstrate their ease fabrication range motions they achieve.