Design and Experiments of an Origami-Inspired Pneumatic Flexible Manipulator

Benzhu Guo, Panding Wang, Zeang Zhao*, Shengyu Duan*, Hongshuai Lei

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Unlike traditional manipulators with high rigidity and limited degrees of freedom, pneumatic manipulators have significant superiorities such as flexibility, lightweight and cleanliness, and therefore, have been one of the most popular research directions in robotics. However, most existing pneumatic manipulators have disadvantages such as low rigidity and simple functionality. In order to make up for the shortcomings of existing pneumatic manipulators, this paper proposes a new pneumatic flexible manipulator inspired by the concept of origami, which realizes the combination and balance of flexibility and rigidity. Finite element analysis is conducted to study influences of the number of airbags, the angle of main beam, and the width of main beam on the performance of the flexible manipulator. The simulation results are utilized to optimize the structure of the flexible manipulator. A pneumatic control system is designed to realize the automatic control of the pneumatic flexible manipulator. At the same time, a prototype is 3D printed, the experimental platform for pneumatic deformation is built, and the verification experiments of the single-jaw manipulator and the three-jaw manipulator are completed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)254-261
Number of pages8
JournalActa Mechanica Solida Sinica
Volume36
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023

Keywords

  • Finite element analysis
  • Flexible structure
  • Origami-inspired design
  • Pneumatic control system
  • Pneumatic drive

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Guo, B., Wang, P., Zhao, Z., Duan, S., & Lei, H. (2023). Design and Experiments of an Origami-Inspired Pneumatic Flexible Manipulator. Acta Mechanica Solida Sinica, 36(2), 254-261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10338-022-00376-7