Development of Low-Cost and Bidirectional Syringe Pumps for Soft Robotics Applications
This work addresses cost and accessibility barriers for researchers and educators in soft robotics, though it is incremental as it builds on existing syringe pump concepts with added bidirectional functionality.
The paper tackled the problem of high cost and limited efficacy in pneumatic actuation for soft robotics by developing a low-cost, modular syringe pump system that can both pump air and pull vacuum, enabling broader adoption in research and education.
Soft robotics leverages deformable materials to develop robots capable of navigating unstructured and dynamic environments. Silicone Voxel-Based Soft Robots (Silibots) are a type of pneumatically actuated soft robots that rely on the inflation and deflation of their voxels for shape-shifting behaviors. However, traditional pneumatic actuation methods (high pressure solenoids, medical diaphragm pumps, micro compressors, compressed fluid) pose significant challenges due to their limited efficacy, cost, complexity, or lack of precision. This work introduces a low cost and modular syringe pump system, constructed with off the shelf and 3D printed parts, designed to overcome these limitations. The syringe pump system also enhances actuation with the unique ability to pull a vacuum as well pump air into the soft robot. Furthermore, the syringe pump features modular hardware and customizable software, allowing for researchers to tailor the syringe pump to their requirements or operate multiple pumps simultaneously with unique pump parameters. This flexibility makes the syringe pump an accessible and scalable tool that paves the way for broader adoption of soft robotic technologies in research and education.