A Magnetorheological Elastomer‐Based Proportional Valve for Soft Pneumatic Actuators
The interest in soft pneumatic actuators has been growing rapidly in robotics, owing to the contact adaptability with the material softness. However, these actuators are mostly controlled by rigid electronic pneumatic valves, which can hardly be integrated into the robot itself, limiting its mobilit...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Advanced Intelligent Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202200238 |
| _version_ | 1797946312011808768 |
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| author | Sihan Wang Liang He Alessandro Albini Peizhi Zhang Perla Maiolino |
| author_facet | Sihan Wang Liang He Alessandro Albini Peizhi Zhang Perla Maiolino |
| author_sort | Sihan Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The interest in soft pneumatic actuators has been growing rapidly in robotics, owing to the contact adaptability with the material softness. However, these actuators are mostly controlled by rigid electronic pneumatic valves, which can hardly be integrated into the robot itself, limiting its mobility and adaptability. Recent advances in soft or electronics‐free valve designs provide the potential to achieve an integrated soft robotic system with reduced weight and rigidity. Nevertheless, the challenge in valve response remains open. To enable dynamic control of a soft pneumatic actuator (SPA), a fast‐response proportional valve is needed. Herein, the potential of Ecoflex‐based magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) membrane to create a proportional valve that can be used in the control of a soft robot made from the same silicone material is explored. Experimental characterization shows that the proposed MRE valve (30 mm × 30 mm × 15 mm, 30 grams) can hold pressure up to 41.3 kPa and regulate the airflow in an analog manner. The valve is used to perform closed‐loop proportional–integral–differential (PID) control with 50 Hz on a SPA and is able to control the pressure within the actuator chamber with a root‐mean‐square error of 0.05 kPa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:09:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa29add39a0d46c3872ae58590a756ce |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2640-4567 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:09:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Intelligent Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa29add39a0d46c3872ae58590a756ce2023-01-21T05:53:26ZengWileyAdvanced Intelligent Systems2640-45672023-01-0151n/an/a10.1002/aisy.202200238A Magnetorheological Elastomer‐Based Proportional Valve for Soft Pneumatic ActuatorsSihan Wang0Liang He1Alessandro Albini2Peizhi Zhang3Perla Maiolino4Department of Engineering Science University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3PJ UKDepartment of Engineering Science University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3PJ UKDepartment of Engineering Science University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3PJ UKResearch Innovation Center Waseda University Shinjuku‐ku Tokyo 162‐0041 JapanDepartment of Engineering Science University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3PJ UKThe interest in soft pneumatic actuators has been growing rapidly in robotics, owing to the contact adaptability with the material softness. However, these actuators are mostly controlled by rigid electronic pneumatic valves, which can hardly be integrated into the robot itself, limiting its mobility and adaptability. Recent advances in soft or electronics‐free valve designs provide the potential to achieve an integrated soft robotic system with reduced weight and rigidity. Nevertheless, the challenge in valve response remains open. To enable dynamic control of a soft pneumatic actuator (SPA), a fast‐response proportional valve is needed. Herein, the potential of Ecoflex‐based magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) membrane to create a proportional valve that can be used in the control of a soft robot made from the same silicone material is explored. Experimental characterization shows that the proposed MRE valve (30 mm × 30 mm × 15 mm, 30 grams) can hold pressure up to 41.3 kPa and regulate the airflow in an analog manner. The valve is used to perform closed‐loop proportional–integral–differential (PID) control with 50 Hz on a SPA and is able to control the pressure within the actuator chamber with a root‐mean‐square error of 0.05 kPa.https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202200238magnetorheological elastomerspneumatic actuatorsproportional valvesoft robotics |
| spellingShingle | Sihan Wang Liang He Alessandro Albini Peizhi Zhang Perla Maiolino A Magnetorheological Elastomer‐Based Proportional Valve for Soft Pneumatic Actuators Advanced Intelligent Systems magnetorheological elastomers pneumatic actuators proportional valve soft robotics |
| title | A Magnetorheological Elastomer‐Based Proportional Valve for Soft Pneumatic Actuators |
| title_full | A Magnetorheological Elastomer‐Based Proportional Valve for Soft Pneumatic Actuators |
| title_fullStr | A Magnetorheological Elastomer‐Based Proportional Valve for Soft Pneumatic Actuators |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Magnetorheological Elastomer‐Based Proportional Valve for Soft Pneumatic Actuators |
| title_short | A Magnetorheological Elastomer‐Based Proportional Valve for Soft Pneumatic Actuators |
| title_sort | magnetorheological elastomer based proportional valve for soft pneumatic actuators |
| topic | magnetorheological elastomers pneumatic actuators proportional valve soft robotics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202200238 |
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