SoRoForge: End-to-End Soft Actuator Design

Abstract

We present SoRoForge, a design tool that addresses several limitations in the existing design and fabrication workflow for pneumatic soft actuators. We use implicit geometry functions to specify geometry and material distribution, a GUI-based software tool for interactive exploration of computational network representations of these implicit functions, and an automated tool for generating and displaying rapid simulation results of candidate designs. We prioritize seamless connectivity between all stages of the design and fabrication process, and elimination of steps that require human intervention. The workflow presented here integrates with existing capabilities for multimaterial additive manufacturing, and is also forward-compatible with emerging automated design techniques. The data gathered from human-interaction with this tool will be used by future automation tools to enable automated soft actuator design based on high-level specifications. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Note to Practitioners</i> —In this paper we present SoRoForge, a software tool that integrates major stages of soft actuator design and fabrication, which are ordinarily distinct and require deep domain expertise to investigate.This work promotes cross-discipline collaboration, allowing experts in other fields to map soft robotics solutions onto their design problems.Our key contribution is the automation of normally tedious or complex aspects of soft actuator design and fabrication: the specification of design geometry, the preparation of numerical simulation studies, and the physical realization of finished designs.Applications for soft actuators designed using our tool include soft manipulators on automated assembly lines, patient-specific biomedical implements, and food handling equipment for easily bruised produce.