Stackable balloon actuators (SBAs) present a compelling new actuator for healthcare and scientific exploration applications. The ability of these multi degree-of-freedom actuators to perform large deformations and conform to the shape of objects make them a valuable choice for grasping and manipulation tasks. This work explores how the design of the SBA can be manipulated through a bio-inspired lens to exploit the features of an octopus arm. It begins by manipulating the design of the SBAs, taking inspiration from the octopus arm morphology to explore different layer geometries, variable layer sizes to generate a tapered profile, embedding different materials to improve force output, and stacking individually actuated SBAs in series to produce a more dexterous assembly. These design manipulations are then characterized individually and as components of multi-arm systems to determine their performance in grasping and object manipulation tasks. / 2027-05-31T00:00:00Z
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48896 |
| Date | 28 May 2024 |
| Creators | Saxena, Manvi |
| Contributors | Ranzani, Tommaso |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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