An Air Recirculation System Based on Bioinspired Soft Re-Air Valve for Highly Efficient Pneumatic Actuation

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Biomimetics

Background:

• Pneumatic actuation systems are vital for soft robots due to compliance and force density.
• Existing systems suffer from low efficiency, poor control, and high noise, limiting mobile robot applications.
• Previous air recycling methods neglect system efficiency and exhaust performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel pneumatic recirculation system for soft robots.
• To enhance system efficiency and control performance while mitigating noise.
• To introduce a soft re-air valve inspired by fish cardiac structures.

Main Methods:

• Development of a recirculation system incorporating a novel soft re-air valve.
• The valve mimics fish cardiac structures to manage compressed air.
• Experimental validation of system efficiency, control accuracy, and noise reduction.

Main Results:

• The proposed system achieved a 47.58% increase in overall system efficiency.
• Position root mean square error was reduced by 8.16%, indicating improved control.
• Exhaust noise was decreased by 47.52% compared to conventional systems.

Conclusions:

• The novel soft re-air valve effectively recycles compressed air, enhancing pneumatic system performance.
• The system improves efficiency and control while significantly reducing noise.
• This biomimetic approach offers a promising solution for advanced soft robotic actuation.