Deformation Property of Space-Filling Mechanism Fabricated through Continuous Threading of Beads

Abstract

Jamming grippers and actuators are gaining popularity in soft robotics application. The ideal material for such applications should include properties like wide range of stiffness variation, high degree of self-restoration, good deformation and extensibility, and ability of shape adoption. Current working materials like fluids, elastomers, granular materials have a part of this set of properties. However, these materials have their own shortcomings. Here, we propose a new material which incorporates all the aforesaid properties but excludes any other undesirable characteristics, which pose as hindrances. By combining the concept of space-filling curves with granular materials, the desired properties have been produced. In this paper, we have studied the fluid characteristics of this material to confirm the existence of deformability, extensibility, and shape adaptability properties of the prototype.