Compact Control Elements for Soft Robots: High Bandwidth Pumps, High Pressure Actuators, and Frequency Addressable Valves.

Abstract

Fluidic soft robots offer unique advantages in safety, adaptability, and mechanical compliance, but their broader adoption has been limited by a lack of compact, high-performance components for power delivery, actuation, and control. This dissertation addresses these challenges through the development of a set of hardware elements that enable scalable, high-bandwidth control of soft robots using readily accessible fabrication methods. First, this work presents the design and characterization of compact, high-bandwidth positive-displacement pumps based on the gerotor architecture. These pumps achieve high pressures in a small form factor, enabling portable and responsive fluid power for soft robotic systems at high gravimetric power densities. Second, this dissertation introduces a class of high-pressure, textile-based artificial muscles that combine large strain and high force output, allowing for system miniaturization. Third, frequency-addressable resonant valves are developed that allow multiple valves to be independently and proportionally controlled using a single input signal. These valves pave the way for robotic systems with increased control degrees-of-freedom, while reducing system complexity and integration overhead. In each case, standard desktop fused filament fabrication (FFF) is leveraged. Despite the inherent limitations of this manufacturing approach, the presented components achieve performance comparable to more traditionally manufactured systems. Together, these contributions advance the practicality, scalability, and accessibility of soft robotic technologies.