Force and Speed in a Soft Stewart Platform
Journal:
arXiv
Published Date:
Apr 17, 2025
Abstract
Many soft robots struggle to produce dynamic motions with fast, large
displacements. We develop a parallel 6 degree-of-freedom (DoF) Stewart-Gough
mechanism using Handed Shearing Auxetic (HSA) actuators. By using soft
actuators, we are able to use one third as many mechatronic components as a
rigid Stewart platform, while retaining a working payload of 2kg and an
open-loop bandwidth greater than 16Hz. We show that the platform is capable of
both precise tracing and dynamic disturbance rejection when controlling a ball
and sliding puck using a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller. We
develop a machine-learning-based kinematics model and demonstrate a functional
workspace of roughly 10cm in each translation direction and 28 degrees in each
orientation. This 6DoF device has many of the characteristics associated with
rigid components - power, speed, and total workspace - while capturing the
advantages of soft mechanisms.
