Soft robots are known for their ability to perform tasks with great adaptability, enabled by their distributed, non-uniform stiffness and actuation. Bending is the most fundamental motion for soft robot design, but creating robust, and easy-to-fabricate soft bending joint with tunable properties remains an active problem of research. In this work, we demonstrate an inflatable actuation module for soft robots with a defined bending plane enabled by forced partial wrinkling. This lowers the structural stiffness in the bending direction, with the final stiffness easily designed by the ratio of wrinkled and unwrinkled regions. We present models and experimental characterization showing the stiffness properties of the actuation module, as well as its ability to maintain the kinematic constraint over a large range of loading conditions. We demonstrate the potential for complex actuation in a soft continuum robot and for decoupling actuation force and efficiency from load capacity. The module provides a novel method for embedding intelligent actuation into soft pneumatic robots.

翻译：软体机器人以其分布式、非均匀的刚度与驱动特性，展现出卓越的任务适应能力。弯曲运动是软体机器人设计中最基础的运动形式，然而如何制造具备可调特性、结构稳健且易于加工的软体弯曲关节，仍是当前研究的前沿课题。本研究提出一种基于强制局部褶皱原理的充气驱动模块，该模块可为软体机器人提供具有明确弯曲平面的运动能力。该设计通过褶皱结构降低弯曲方向的结构刚度，且最终刚度可通过褶皱区域与非褶皱区域的比例进行便捷设计。我们通过理论模型与实验表征，展示了该驱动模块的刚度特性及其在广泛载荷条件下保持运动学约束的能力。研究进一步演示了该模块在软体连续体机器人中实现复杂驱动的潜力，以及驱动力、驱动效率与承载能力解耦的可能性。该模块为软体气动机器人嵌入智能驱动功能提供了一种创新方法。