Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Design and Characterisation of a Variable Stiffness Soft Actuator Based on Tendon Twisting

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems (TAROS 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 13054))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 1423 Accesses

Abstract

This short paper presents a preliminary investigation into the implementation of a controllable variable stiffening mechanism, which is achieved through the twisting of tendons around the central axis of a soft actuator. The gradual stiffening effect is realised through the increase in friction between the tendons as those are twisted against each other. This enables an easy to control variable stiffness actuator which is driven through the rotation of a DC motor driving the tendon twisting. The proposed mechanism was integrated within the core of a soft pneumatic actuator based on the STIFF-FLOP design, in order to characterise the increase in stiffness per twist angle for three different tendon materials. The initial experimental results presented here demonstrated that a controllable stiffening effect can be achieved using this technique, which shows dependency on the choice of tendon material. The results also highlighted the impact of braiding the softer tendons to potentially enhance stiffening, although further experimentation is necessary to characterise this behaviour in more detail.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    More information can be found at www.softroboticstoolkit.com.

References

  1. Coyle, S., Majidi, C., LeDuc, P., Hsia, K.J.: Bio-inspired soft robotics: material selection, actuation, and design. Extreme Mech. Lett. 22, 51–59 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Marachese, A.D., Katzschmann, R.K., Rus, D.: A recipe for soft fluidic elastomer robots. Soft Robot. 2(1), 7–25 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Manti, M., Cacucciolo, V., Cianchetti, M.: Stiffening in soft robotics: a review of the state of the art. IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag. 23(3), 93–106 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Fitzgerald, S.G., Delaney, G.W., Howard, D.: A review of jamming actuation in soft robotics. MDPI, Brisbane (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Goti, K., Katz, S., Baharlou, E., Vasey, L., Menges, A.: Jamming Formations - Intuitive design and fabrication process through human-computer interaction. Interact. – Hum.-Comput. 1, 669 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cianchetti, M., Ranzani, T., Gerboni, G., De Falco, I., Laschi, C., Menciassi, A.: STIFF-FLOP surgical manipulator: mechanical design and experimental characterization of the single module. In: International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Tokyo (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Kim, Y.J., Cheng, S., Kim, S., Iagnemma, K.D.: Design of a tubular snakelike manipulator with stiffening capability by layer jamming. In: Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 4251–4256 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Kim, Y.J., Cheng, S., Kim, S., Iagnemma, K.: A novel layer jamming mechanism with tunable stiffness capability for minimally invasive surgery. IEEE Trans. Rob. 29(4), 1031–1042 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Grabowska, K., Ciesielska, I.: Micro-CT supporting structural analysis and modelling of ropes made of natural fibers. Text. Res. J. (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Helps, T., Taghavi, M., Wang, S., Rossiter, J.: Twisted rubber variable-stiffness artificial muscles. Soft Rob. 7(3), 386 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Li, S., Vogt, D.M., Rus, D., Wood, R.J.: Fluid-driven origami-inspired artificial muscles. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2017)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    William King, Luke Pooley, Philip Johnson & Khaled Elgeneidy

  2. Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    William King, Luke Pooley, Philip Johnson & Khaled Elgeneidy

Authors
  1. William King
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Luke Pooley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Philip Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Khaled Elgeneidy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khaled Elgeneidy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Charles Fox

  2. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Junfeng Gao

  3. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Amir Ghalamzan Esfahani

  4. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Mini Saaj

  5. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Marc Hanheide

  6. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Simon Parsons

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

King, W., Pooley, L., Johnson, P., Elgeneidy, K. (2021). Design and Characterisation of a Variable Stiffness Soft Actuator Based on Tendon Twisting. In: Fox, C., Gao, J., Ghalamzan Esfahani, A., Saaj, M., Hanheide, M., Parsons, S. (eds) Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems. TAROS 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 13054. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89177-0_42

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89177-0_42

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-89176-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-89177-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation