Fractional Order Control of Continuum Soft Robots: Combining Decoupled/Reduced-Dynamics Models and Robust Fractional Order Controllers for Complex Soft Robot Motions

Abstract

Continuum soft robots are made up of soft material components (referred to as continuum), rigid components, actuators, and sensors. By structurally deforming the continuum, a motion of the entire system is initiated. To capture the interaction of the actuators on the soft material deformation and the corresponding sensor readings, mathematical models involving geometrical, material, and inertia parameters of the physical system must be set up to predict its complex physical behavior.