Soft Actuator Theory
My documentation, to be updated, for learning about soft actuators. Currently only covers basic McKibbens and some advanced configurations.
Unlike the “hard” actuators I’ve been building, such as the brushless motors which involve motion commutated by electricity and magnetism, soft actuators involve other means of generating motion and force, such as using fluids. This allows for a more compliant interaction between the actuator and the world, as it can act as a natural spring-mass damper.
In the instance of robotic hands, it can give a more lifelike feel to human-robot interactions rather than rigid links in a motor/bearing/cable driven system in most robot hands.
This project is inspired by the actuation of human muscles, which actuate via electrical impulse -> calcium release -> series shortening of muscle fibers, accompanied by an increase of cross-sectional area. McKibben actuators behave in a similar fashion, albeit only visually.