Development of Novel Foam-Based Soft Robotic Ring Actuators for a Biomimetic Peristaltic Pumping System

Abstract

Peristaltic pumping in nature allows for the transport of various media in a simple and secure way. Different types of peristaltic pumps exist in the application area of soft robotics. Most systems are based on pneumatic network (pneu-net) fluidic elastomer actuators or artificial muscle actuators. In this study the development of a pump actuated by foam-based, flexible, compliant and lightweight ring actuators is presented. Utilizing a custom built pump test bench the soft robotic ring actuators are characterized in terms of contraction rate and volumetric displacement. Furthermore we introduce a flexible and elastic soft robotic peristaltic pumping system as an alternative to conventional technical pumps.