Design Optimization for Large High-Force Soft Robot Manipulators Under Gravitational Loads

Abstract:Designing large soft robots capable of generating high forces for physical human-robot interaction remains a significant challenge in soft robotics. Prior work in large soft robots has focused on proof-of-concept prototypes, and no systematic framework exists for determining the suitability of a design paradigm for a desired task. This manuscript introduces a method for optimizing the geometry of a soft robot limb, maximizing its blocking force subject to an anti-bucking constraint under its own gravitational loading. We demonstrate that an explicit solution exists to the proposed optimization problem under certain assumptions. Experiments with three geometries of a large, soft, pneumatically-actuated manipulator demonstrate that the method correctly predicts which designs meet constraints and which produces the largest end-effector forces. This method, with its closed-form solution, can allow designers to determine a-priori if an intended class of soft manipulators is an appropriate choice for physical interaction at large size scales.

Robotics (cs.RO)

arXiv:2608.16728 [cs.RO]

(or arXiv:2608.16728v1 [cs.RO] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2608.16728 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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