Antagonistic Actuation Principle for a Silicone-based Soft Manipulator

This chapter proposes an alternative actuation principle that investigates the capability of variable stiffness of a continuum silicon-based manipulator which was primarily developed for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). Inspired by biological muscular composition, we have designed a hybrid actuation mechanism that can be alternatively used for STIFF-FLOP manipulator. The current soft robot is actuated by pneumatic pressure, in addition to incorporating tendons’ tension, which are placed within the soft robot’s body. Experiments are conducted by exerting an externally applied force in different poses, and simultaneously varying the stiffness via the tendons. Test results are demonstrated, and it is observed that dual antagonistic actuation, with the benefit of higher force capacities, could indeed promise enhancing soft robotics morphological features.