A novel inflatable actuator for inflatable robotic arms

Abstract

Inflatable manipulators open new trends in robotic applications. In this paper, a new inflatable actuator to articulate a long-range inflatable robotic arm, is presented. Completely made of high strength fabric, its low mass leads to large force-weight ratios and a stroke almost equal to twice its overall length. The operation principle, as well as the relations among the displacement, the pressure and force, are described in this paper. The analysis is under validation through a finite elements simulation and a test on a prototype.