Soft Actuator Design

Soft actuators can impart spatial forces without imposing a rigid structure. We explore ways of utilizing geometry and reinforcing elements such as fibers and beams to design fluid-driven actuators with desired properties.

Publications

• Hybrid Membrane-Solenoid Valves for High-Flow, Precisely Controlled Soft Robotic Actuation.
  N. Velimirovic, C. D. Remy, D. Bruder. IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) (accepted). 2026.

• Embedded Valves for Distributed Control of Soft Pneumatic Actuators.
  R. Zuo, M. Mehta, D.H. Han, D. Bruder. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). 2024. [link] [bibtex] [video]

• The Chain-link Actuator: Exploiting the Bending Stiffness of McKibben Artificial Muscles to Achieve Larger Contraction Ratios.
  D. Bruder, R. J. Wood. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. 2021. [link] [bibtex]

• A Continuum Model for Fiber-Reinforced Soft Robot Actuators.
  A. Sedal, D. Bruder, J. Bishop-Moser, R. Vasudevan, and S. Kota. Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics. 2018. [link] [bibtex]