Design and Modeling of a Soft Manipulator Driven by Incompressible Fluid

Underwater operations with robotic manipulator are an emerging field. Compared to traditional robotic manipulator, soft manipulator offer safer environmental interactions and better flexibility. However, when operating in complex underwater environments, factors such as different water depths and the weight of held objects can lead to significant changes in the shape and pressure of the chamber, making the kinematics of the current soft arm inaccurate. To address these issues, we innovatively introduced the assumption of fluid incompressibility, which effectively constrains the kinematic model. We also designed and manufactured a hydraulic-driven flexible robotic arm suitable for underwater operations. Experiments show that the designed soft manipulator achieved more precise motion control under conditions of pressure interference.