A Fluid Elastomeric Actuator Design for Soft Robots
The field of robotics faces significant challenges in creating adaptable and flexible end-effectors. Soft robotics, specifically soft robotic end-effectors, offer an innovative solution. This paper focuses on designing fluid elastomeric actuators (FEAs) for soft robotic end-effectors. The study presents key design considerations and evaluates the use of Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations for optimizing FEA performance. The study then concludes by proposing design guidelines for developing application-specific fluid elastomeric actuators.
Authors
- Paolo Mercorelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3288-5280)
- Jacques Welgemoed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6281-4208)
- Dennis Els (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6569-4160)
- Theo van Niekerk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1504-5020)
Institutions
- Leuphana University of Lüneburg (DE)
- Nelson Mandela University (ZA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Actuators
- Published
- 2025-08-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/act14090417
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Soft Robotics and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.67
Funders
- Nelson Mandela University