Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Rapid Manufacturing of Thin Soft Pneumatic Actuators and Robots
Published on: November 8, 2019
Slit Tubes for Semisoft Pneumatic Actuators
Lee Belding1, Bilge Baytekin2, Hasan Tarik Baytekin2
1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
Abstract:
This article describes a new principle for designing soft or 'semisoft' pneumatic actuators: SLiT (for SLit-in-Tube) actuators. Inflating an elastomeric balloon, when enclosed by an external shell (a material with higher Young's modulus) containing slits of different directions and lengths, produces a variety of motions, including bending, twisting, contraction, and elongation. The requisite pressure for actuation depends on the length of the slits, and this dependence allows sequential actuation by controlling the applied pressure. Different actuators can also be controlled using external "sliders" that act as reprogrammable "on-off" switches. A pneumatic arm and a walker constructed from SLiT actuators demonstrate their ease of fabrication and the range of motions they can achieve.
Related Concept Videos
Uterine Tubes
Endotracheal Tube Extubation
Procedure
Extubation removes the endotracheal tube (ETT) from the patient on mechanical ventilation. It requires a well-coordinated, multidisciplinary approach involving physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other healthcare professionals....
Tracheostomy: Procedure and Tubes
Tracheostomy tubes can be made of semiflexible plastic (polyurethane or silicone), rigid plastic, or metal, and they come in...
Rise of Liquid in a Capillary Tube
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
The Uncertainty Principle

