In this paper, we propose a segment-wise soft robotic antenna (SRA) system, where each soft robotic arm referred to as a tentacle, comprises multiple independently controllable segments with bending, elongation-retraction, and sweeping motions. By adjusting segment motion parameters, the positions of surface-mounted antennas are reconfigured, distinguishing it from conventional reconfigurable antenna (RA) systems. Based on this model, we propose two antenna deployment schemes: the segmented end-antenna configuration (SEAC), where fixed antennas are mounted at the segment ends and reconfigured via segment motions; and the hybrid end-and-intermediate antenna configuration (HEIAC), where RAs are further integrated as intra-segment antennas. In HEIAC, soft-robot segment deformation provides large-scale spatial reconfiguration, while RAs enable fine-grained adjustment. For SEAC, we formulate a sum-rate maximization problem accounting for inter-segment connectivity and the nonlinear mapping from segment deformation parameters to antenna coordinates, and develop a penalty dual decomposition-projected gradient ascent (PDD-PGA) algorithm. For HEIAC, we jointly optimize segment deformation, intra-segment antenna positions, and antenna activation using a block coordinate descent (BCD)-PDD-PGA algorithm with greedy backward antenna selection. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed schemes substantially outperform fixed-position antenna arrays and conventional RA baselines. In particular, SEAC and HEIAC achieve 37.9% and 32.1% sum-rate gains over conventional 3D reconfigurable arrays, respectively, while SEAC provides up to a 49.3% gain in compact array deployments.

翻译：本文提出一种分段式软体机器人天线（SRA）系统，其中每个称为触手的软体机械臂包含多个独立可控段，具备弯曲、伸缩及扫掠运动能力。通过调节段运动参数，可重构表面安装天线的位置，这使其有别于传统可重构天线（RA）系统。基于该模型，我们提出两种天线部署方案：分段端部天线配置（SEAC），其中固定天线安装于段端并通过段运动实现重构；以及混合端部与中间天线配置（HEIAC），其中进一步将可重构天线集成为段内天线。在HEIAC中，软体机器人段变形提供大规模空间重构，而RA则实现细粒度调整。针对SEAC，我们构建了一个考虑段间连接性以及段变形参数到天线坐标非线性映射的和速率最大化问题，并开发了惩罚对偶分解-投影梯度上升（PDD-PGA）算法。针对HEIAC，我们采用结合贪婪后向天线选择的块坐标下降（BCD）-PDD-PGA算法，联合优化段变形、段内天线位置及天线激活。仿真结果表明，所提方案显著优于固定位置天线阵列及传统RA基线。具体而言，与传统的三维可重构阵列相比，SEAC和HEIAC分别实现了37.9%和32.1%的和速率增益，而SEAC在紧凑阵列部署中可提供高达49.3%的增益。