Kinematics and Dynamic Modeling of a Planar Hydraulic Elastomer Actuator
This work addresses modeling for soft robotic actuators, which is incremental as it builds on existing actuator types with a focus on systematic formulation and real-time control applicability.
The paper tackles the problem of modeling the kinematics and dynamics of a fiber-reinforced fluidic elastomer actuator, resulting in a model that relates hydraulic pressure to bending angle and tip position, with experimental validation of its performance in transition and steady states.
This paper presents modeling of a compliant 2D manipulator, a so called soft hydraulic/fluidic elastomer actuator. Our focus is on fiber-Reinforced Fluidic Elastomer Actuators (RFEA) driven by a constant pressure hydraulic supply and modulated on/off valves. We present a model that not only provides the dynamics behavior of the system but also the kinematics of the actuator. In addition to that, the relation between the applied hydraulic pressure and the bending angle of the soft actuator and thus, its tip position is formulated in a systematic way. We also present a steady state model that calculates the bending angle given the fluid pressure which can be beneficial to find out the initial values of the parameters during the system identification process. Our experimental results verify and validate the performance of the proposed modeling approach both in transition and steady states. Due to its inherent simplicity, this model shall also be used in real-time control of the soft actuators.