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Updated: Apr 1, 2026

Rod-based Fabrication of Customizable Soft Robotic Pneumatic Gripper Devices for Delicate Tissue Manipulation

Rod-based Fabrication of Customizable Soft Robotic Pneumatic Gripper Devices for Delicate Tissue Manipulation

Published on: August 2, 2016

Dielectric Elastomer Based "Grippers" for Soft Robotics.

Samuel Shian¹, Katia Bertoldi¹, David R Clarke¹

¹John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 11 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|September 30, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Stiff fibers control dielectric elastomer actuator deformation, breaking strain symmetry. This enables unique shapes for soft robotic gripping actuators.

Keywords:

bending dielectric elastomer actuators fiber stiffening grippers soft robotics

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Robotics
Polymer Science

Background:

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are soft actuators that deform under an electric field.
Controlling the deformation of DEAs, especially achieving asymmetric strain, is challenging without prestretch.
Soft robotics requires adaptable actuators capable of complex movements and gripping functionalities.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate the use of stiff fibers to control the deformation of dielectric elastomer actuators.
To break the symmetry of equi-biaxial lateral strain in DEAs without prestretch.
To enable novel designs for gripping actuators in soft robotics.

Main Methods:

Incorporating a few stiff fibers into dielectric elastomer actuator designs.
Patterning the arrangement of these stiff fibers.
Applying electrical actuation to observe and analyze the resulting deformation and shape evolution.

Main Results:

The stiff fibers effectively controlled the deformation of the dielectric elastomer actuators.
The symmetry of equi-biaxial lateral strain was successfully broken.
Actuators with patterned fibers exhibited unique, controllable shapes upon electrical actuation.

Conclusions:

Few stiff fibers are a viable method for controlling DEA deformation and breaking strain symmetry.
Patterned fiber integration allows for the creation of uniquely shaped actuators.
This technique facilitates the development of novel gripping actuators for soft robotic applications.