PneuNets Soft Actuators: Characterization and Deformation Conditioning

This article deals with soft PneuNets actuators, an innovative type of actuators that have a high potential for application in soft robotics in the biomedical field, especially for the development of rehabilitation robots. The main objective of the work is to introduce methods for the efficient characterisation of PneuNets soft actuators and an innovative solution for deformation conditioning. Finite element method (FEM) simulations are presented to evaluate the actuator design based on the bending capacity and the generated forces, as well as simple and cost-effective experimental setups and procedures to characterise the actuators and validate the simulation results. The experimental results successfully validate the simulations and confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of an optimised simulation-based design approach. Additional experiments describe the response of the actuator to input pressure steps and a novel method for conditioning its deformation profile is presented.