A Novel Soft Robotic Manipulator Design with Zig-zag Chamber Geometry

Abstract

The development of soft robots has advanced rapidly in recent years. However, most designs present significant non-linearities and deviate from the desired bending direction in an unpredictable manner. This makes accurate control more difficult. In this paper, we present a novel design of a soft robotic manipulator with zig-zag partition walls, which minimize those deviations. We first outline the design and describe a lost wax manufacturing process for complex geometries. We then report experiments to evaluate the bending characteristics, force, and repeatability of the prototype, and we compare it against an existing design. The results show a significant improvement in bending consistency with minimal deviations.