Development of simple attitude measuring sensor for tetrahedral-shaped soft actuator and control system

Abstract

The introducing an expensive 3D attitude sensor to a tiny soft actuator with limited bending directions is over-spec and impractical. This paper presents the development of simple and inexpensive attitude measuring sensor for Tetrahedral-shaped Soft Actuator (TSA for short) using three Extension type Flexible Pneumatic Actuators (EFPA for short). The novel sensor consists of a Hall sensor and a ring-shaped magnet. The simple control system that can decrease number of valves is also proposed and tested. As a result, the attitude control of TSA toward six bending and longitudinal directions can be realized. In this paper, the construction and operating principle of the proposed sensor, applications to a posture control of TSA, a simplification of the system and experimental results are described.