In July, the IDEAS² Center’s Soft Robotics team advanced both robotic joint sensing and soft gripper control capabilities to support inflatable space structure maintenance and inspection.
The team developed new prototypes of a pneumatic-actuated robotic finger and an SMA-driven robotic arm, each designed to deliver distinct force and deformation outputs, with future integration planned into lightweight robotic manipulators for space use.
They also updated their SMA-actuated robotic joint to incorporate flexible strain gauge sensors, enabling precise measurement of bending angles. A new curvature calibration method, using laser-cut templates and interval markers, allowed accurate assessment of sensor differential outputs across a range of bend angles.
In parallel, the team fabricated a new microcontroller-based pneumatic soft gripper, integrating an STM32F103C8T6 control platform with relay switching and PWM-based airflow modulation.
Together, these efforts establish the groundwork for the next development phase: embedding dielectric elastomer self-sensing elements to achieve closed-loop bending angle feedback and active control of soft robotic fingers. These advances demonstrate progress toward self-sensing, feedback-controlled robotic systems capable of performing critical handling, repair, and inspection tasks in future space habitats.