Variable-Corner Robotic Surfaces with Minimal Area and Their Kinematics

Abstract

Actuators and robots capable of representing surfaces can take various forms, depending on the types of actuators used and their arrangements. In traditional robotic surfaces, the corners on the boundary in the undeformed state remain unchanged, indicating that the number and position of the boundary corners do not vary during deformation. This paper introduces a ring-shaped actuator with three types of bending elements combined with a soap film, demonstrating the existence of robotic surfaces in which the number of boundary corners can change through actuation. We also propose forward and inverse kinematics applicable to such robotic surfaces and present simulation results. These findings suggest that inverse kinematics can be achieved in soft robots constructed with prestressed silicone rubber or fabric, including membrane-like components, stretched over a frame.