journal article·2018-03Open access

Slit Tubes for Semisoft Pneumatic Actuators

Lee Belding, Bilge Baytekin, Hasan Tarik Baytekin, Philipp Rothemund, Mohit S. Verma, Alex Nemiroski, Dan Sameoto, Bartosz A. Grzybowski, George M. Whitesides

Advanced Materials· Volume 30· Issue 9

Abstract

Abstract This article describes a new principle for designing soft or ‘semisoft’ pneumatic actuators: SLiT (for SLit‐in‐Tube) actuators. Inflating an elastomeric balloon, when enclosed by an external shell (a material with higher Young's modulus) containing slits of different directions and lengths, produces a variety of motions, including bending, twisting, contraction, and elongation. The requisite pressure for actuation depends on the length of the slits, and this dependence allows sequential actuation by controlling the applied pressure. Different actuators can also be controlled using external “sliders” that act as reprogrammable “on‐off” switches. A pneumatic arm and a walker constructed from SLiT actuators demonstrate their ease of fabrication and the range of motions they can achieve.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Soft Robotics and Applications · Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Tactile and Sensory Interactions

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University 12 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Northwestern University 2145 Sheridan Road Evanston IL 60208 USA

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University 29 Oxford St Cambridge MA 02138 USA

Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology Harvard University 29 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA

Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Alberta 9211‐116 Street NW Edmonton Alberta T6G 1H9 Canada

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering Harvard University 60 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA

Funding

U.S. Department of Energy · Basic Energy Sciences · Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada · National Science Foundation

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