Soft composite hinge actuator and application to compliant robotic gripper
Abstract(#br)This work introduces the design of a smart soft composite (SSC) hinge actuator capable of a pure bending motion concentrated on specific sections of the actuator. This actuator makes use of a shape memory alloy (SMA) wire in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix embedded with segmented rigid components. The bending deformation was accomplished by actuating the SMA wire embedded along the length of the matrix eccentrically from neutral surface.