3 Soft Manipulator Actuation Module – with Reinforced Chambers

During the integration and data-fusion algorithms tests it turned out that the initial manipulator prototype, described in Chapter 2, had a number of drawbacks emerging from its structure and resulting in high actuation nonlinearity and low sensing capabilities. In this chapter we show how the internal distortions in the initial design influence the manipulator behaviour and the sensory readings, and then we propose new designs that solve those issues. A braided actuation chamber instead of the overall module braiding concept is presented together with the manufacturing technology and experimental characterization of the actuation module. The idea of using multiple actuation chambers and the division of the central stiffening chamber into distributed stiffening chambers is also presented.