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Hardware Programming of a Single-input Pneumatic Mechanism to Control

Multiple Elastic Inflatable Actuators

Conference Paper · November 2021

DOI: 10.1109/M2VIP49856.2021.9665136

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 2021 27th International Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice (M2VIP)
Hardware Programming of a Single-input Pneumatic Mechanism to
Control Multiple Elastic Inflatable Actuators
2021 27th International Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice (M2VIP) | 978-1-6654-3153-8/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/M2VIP49856.2021.9665136
Ningbin Zhang, Guoying Gu*, and Xiangyang Zhu*
xx
Abstract—Elastic inflatable actuators (EIAs) are widely used
in the emerging field of soft robotics. Although integrating
multiple EIAs in soft robots has been demonstrated successful,
these EIAs typically require independent control inputs that
results in a complex actuation process. This paper proposes a
single-input pneumatic mechanisms (SIPM) to generate a wide
range of output pressures via hardware programming, enabling
multiple EIAs to achieve different motions. We first present a
conceptual design of the SIPM and build its pneumatic model
based on air compressibility, which relates the control inputs,
the structural parameters of the SIPM, and the output pressures.
Then, we perform a series of parametric analyses and numerical
simulations to investigate the hardware programming of
structural parameters for target output pressures. Finally, a
SIPM prototype whose structural parameters are derived from
simulation results is developed. The experimental results
validate the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism.
I. INTRODUCTION
Soft robots have attracted increasing attention in the field
of robotics over recent years. The mobility of these robots is
rendered by embedded soft actuators composed of materials
with low Young’s modulus [1]. One popular category of soft
actuators is the elastic inflatable actuator (EIA), which
typically has a hollow structure with one or several cavities [2].
Upon pressurization, the cavities inflate to generate some
kinds of motion (e.g., extension [3], bending [4], contraction
[5], and twisting [6]) and force. Therefore, the EIA can be
actuated by fluid-driven approaches, among which the
pneumatic actuation is commonly used due to its low viscosity,
high accessibility, and low cost [7].
A soft robot usually consists of several combined EIAs to
execute specific tasks. In some cases, EIAs can share a single
pressure to achieve common motions, such as in the
implementation of some soft grippers [8], [9], [10]. In other
cases, EIAs require independent controlled pressures for the
robot to achieve more dexterous motions (e.g., locomotion
[11], [12], dexterous grasping [13], [14], and continuous arm
manipulation [15]). In these cases, the large number of
independently controlled pressures requires various control
inputs, resulting in the complexity of control strategies and
hardware setups for the pneumatic system. To address this
challenge, some researchers have explored simplified
strategies (e.g., parameter optimization [16], principal
component analysis [17], and learned differentiable model
[18]) to reduce the control inputs.
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (Grant nos 52025057 and 91948302). (*Corresponding authors:
guguoying@sjtu.edu.cn and mexyzhu@sjtu.edu.cn)
The authors are with State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and
Vibration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Robotics Institute, School of
Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240,
China.
978-1-6654-3153-8/21/$31.00 ©2021
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to: Shanghai
Fig. 1 Multiple EIAs are controlled by the SIPM.
An alternative way to reduce control inputs is to integrate
mechanical intelligence in the EIA-based robotic systems via
hardware programming. For example, Vasios et al. use the
viscous flow effects in the pneumatic tubes and modulate the
tube characteristics to control several EIAs in a locomotive
robot, enabling the robot to achieve target responses with a
single input [19]. In another example, by combining the
peak-and-valley behaviours of EIAs and passive flow
restrictions, Gorissen et al. program the actuation sequence of
multiple EIAs attached to a single pressure supply [20].
Besides, Ben-Haim et al. propose an approach to control a
serial chain of bistable EIAs with a single flow rate at the inlet
of the chain [21].
Although these methods have shown great potential, their
modelling processes are often built based on the
incompressible air assumption. This assumption may lead to
inaccuracy when the air pressures in EIAs vary over a wide
range. Due to the high nonlinearity of air compressibility,
developing a pneumatic mechanism with a single input and
multiple output pressures for EIAs remains challenging.
Furthermore, it is difficult to use these methods in scenarios
without obvious flow restrictions or for EIAs without
nonlinear behaviours (e.g., bistable property).
In this paper, we develop a single-input pneumatic
mechanism (SIPM) through hardware programming, enabling
multiple EIAs to achieve a wide range of target pressures for
required motions (see Fig. 1). We first propose a conceptual
design of the SIPM. Next, an analytical model based on air
compressibility is built to describe the relationships of control
inputs, structural parameters of the SIPM, and output
pressures. Leveraging the analytical model, we perform
numerical simulations to program SIPM’s structural
parameters for multiple EIAs’ target output pressures. Based
on simulation results, we propose a SIPM prototype with
programmed hardware parameters. The experimental results
demonstrate that the SIPM prototype allows changing its
structural parameters to accommodate an extensive range of
target output pressures of multiple EIAs, which validate the
effectiveness of the proposed development.
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 2021 27th International Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice (M2VIP)

with fluidic bellows and fibre-reinforced structures, the

relationship can be approximatively modelled as a linear
function to simplify modelling, which has been proved
effective [23], [24]. Based on the linear approximation, we can
calculate Veia ,i by
Veia ,i  f ( Pi ) = Veia0 ,i 1+i ( Pi  P0 ) . (3)
where i is the expansion ratio with the unit of kPaA 1 . By
substituting (2) and (3) into (1), we can obtain
Pi (Li  d ) Ai +Veia0 ,i 1+ i ( Pi  P0 )  +Vdead ,i 
(4)
 P0 ( Li Ai  Veia0 ,i +Vdead ,i )
.
Rearranging,
Fig. 2 Schematic illustration of the SIPM. V 0 1+i ( Pi  P0 ) Vdead ,i
d  Li  eia ,i 
Ai Ai
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. 0
. (5)
Section II presents the conceptual design of the SIPM, P0 ( Li Ai  Veia ,i +Vdead ,i )

followed by the pneumatic modelling process. Section III Ai Pi
gives the parametric analyses. Section IV presents numerical Equation (5) suggests that the push distance d is a function
simulations on the hardware programming of structural of Pi , Li , Ai , Vdead ,i , Veia0 ,i and i . We regard d as the
parameters for target pressures. Section V demonstrates the
validation of numerical simulations via experimental results. control input and Pi as the output. Thus, by programming Li ,
The conclusions are drawn in Section VI. Ai , Vdead ,i , Veia0 ,i and i , we can obtain the target Pi with a
II. DESIGN AND MODELLING single input d .
A. Conceptual design III. PARAMETRIC ANALYSES
As shown in Fig. 2, a SIPM is a closed pneumatic system In this section, we will perform parametric analyses in
consisting of a series of EIAs, tubes, cylinders, pistons, five typical cases. In each case, only one of the five
pushrods and a push plate. The top sides of the cylinders are parameters (i.e., Li , Ai , Vdead ,i , Veia0 ,i and i ) is set as the
connected to n EIAs with tubes. On the bottom sides of
cylinders, n pistons are connected to a common push plate variable while others are held constant.
with pushrods, forming n cylinder-piston branches. When A. Variable cross-section area
the push plate is pushed by a distance d , the pressure in each
As shown in Fig. 3(a), the parameters Li , Veia0 ,i , Vdead ,i
branch increases from the atmospheric pressure P0 to
different operating pressure Pi (i  1, 2, , n) due to air and i are constants in this case:
compressibility. Li =L , Veia0 ,i =Veia0 , Vdead ,i  Vdead , i = . (6)
Substituting (6) into (4) yields
B. Pneumatic modelling
PV 0 1+ ( Pi  P0 )   PV 0
i dead  P0 (Veia +Vdead )
The initial volumes of the i-th cylinder and the i-th EIA are Ai  i eia . (7)
Pi d  Pi L  P0 L
denoted as Vcyl0 ,i and Veia0 ,i , respectively. Upon pressurization,
It can be shown that Ai increases with increasing of Pi for a
the volumes of the i-th cylinder and the EIA are denoted as
Vcyl ,i and Veia ,i , respectively. The dead volume of the i-th certain d (see Appendix A). Therefore, there exists a
maximum value of Ai (denoted as Amax ) corresponding to a
tubes is denoted as Vdead ,i . According to the Ideal Gas Law
maximum value of Pi (denoted as Pmax ). Besides, the value
[22], we obtain
of d should not be larger than L due to realizability. When
Pi (Vcyl ,i +Veia ,i +Vdead ,i )  P0 (Vcyl0 ,i  Veia0 ,i +Vdead ,i ) . (1)
d =L , i.e., all the pistons touch their corresponding cylinder
The unit of the pressure Pi or Pi is kPaA , i.e., the absolute heads, (7) can be simplified as
pressure. The volume Vcyl ,i can be derived by PV 0 1+ ( Pi  P0 )   PV 0
i dead  P0 (Veia +Vdead )
Ai  i eia . (8)
V = dAi , Vcyl0 ,i = Li Ai , Vcyl ,i = (Li  d ) Ai .
(2) P0 L
where Ai and Li are the inner cross-section area and the
B. Variable cylinder length
length of the i-th cylinder, respectively. The parameter Veia ,i
is related to the actuator structure, pressure, and external force. As shown in Fig. 3(b), the parameters Ai , Veia0 ,i , Vdead ,i
This paper only considers the situation where the EIA freely and i are constants in this case:
expands (i.e., the external force is neglected). Thus, Veia ,i can Ai =A , Veia0 ,i =Veia0 , Vdead ,i  Vdead , i = . (9)
be expressed as a function of Pi , i.e., Veia ,i  f ( Pi ) . For EIAs Substituting (9) into (5) yields

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i eia 1+ ( Pi  P0 )   PV
0 0
P0 (Veia +Vdead )  PV i dead  Pi dA
Li  . (10)
A( Pi  P0 )
It can be shown that Li decreases with increasing of Pi for a
certain d (see Appendix B). There exists a minimum value
of Li (denoted as Lmin ) corresponding to Pmax . Similarly, the
value of d should not be larger than Li . When d =Lmin , at
least one piston touches its cylinder head and generates Pmax
in the corresponding branch. In this sense, we can obtain
P V 0 1+ ( Pmax  P0 )  PmaxVdead  P0 (Veia
0
+Vdead )
Lmin  max eia . (11)
P0 A
By substituting (11) into (10), we can obtain
i eia  Pmax  P0  Pmax ( Pmax  P0 )  P0 ( Pi  P0 ) 
0
PV
Li 
AP0 ( Pi  P0 )
0
. (12)
V P ( P  P0 ) Veia +Vdead
+ dead i max 
AP0 ( Pi  P0 ) A

C. Variable dead volume of tubes

As shown in Fig. 3(c), the parameters Li , Ai , i and
0
Fig. 3 Schematic of five cases: (a) variable Ai , (b) variable Li , (c) variable
V eia , i are constants in this case: 0
Vdead ,i , (d) variable Veia ,i , and (e) variable  i .
Li =L , Ai =A , i = , Veia0 ,i =Veia0 . (13)
By substituting (13) into Eq. (5), we can obtain
P Ad It can be shown that i decreases with increasing of Pi for a
Vdead ,i  Veia0 (Pi  1)  LA  i . (14) certain d (see Appendix E). We also let d =L to make a
Pi  P0
compact form and obtain
It can be shown that Vdead decreases with increasing of Pi for
P ( LA+Vdead  Veia0 )  Pi (Vdead  Veia0 )
a certain d (see Appendix C). We also let d =L to make a i  0 . (21)
Veia0 Pi ( Pi  P0 )
compact form and obtain
P LA IV. NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS
Vdead ,i  Veia0 (Pi  1)  0 . (15)
Pi  P0 We perform numerical simulations based on parametric
D. Variable initial volume of EIA analyses to calculate the structural parameters for a series of
target pressures. Before the simulation, constant parameters
As shown in Fig. 3(d), the parameters Li , Ai , Vdead ,i and ( A , L , Vdead , Veia0 and  ) should be initialized. Note that
i are constants in this case: each constant parameter is a priori in most cases except in the
Li =L , Ai =A , Vdead ,i  Vdead , i = . specific case where the parameter is specified as a variable.
(16)
For simulation, we set A=383.6 mm2 (i.e., the inner
By substituting (17) into (5), we can obtain cross-section area of a 30 mL syringe), L=40 mm and
P ( LA  Vdead  dA)  P0 ( LA+Vdead ) Vdead =1256.6 mm3 (i.e., a 400 mm-length tube with an inner
Veia0 ,i  i . (17)
P0  Pi 1+ ( Pi  P0 ) diameter of 2 mm). The pressure range is set from 110 kPaA
It can be shown that Veia0 ,i decreases with increasing of Pi for to 200 kPaA with a step of 1 kPaA. The push distance d is
set from 22.5 mm to 40 mm with a step of 2.5 mm.
a certain d (see Appendix D). We also let d =L to make a
We employ customed fibre-reinforced bending soft
compact form and obtain actuators [25] as EIAs. As shown in Fig. 4(a), the EIA is
PV  P0 ( LA+Vdead ) composed of an elastomeric inner chamber (material:
Veia0 ,i  i dead . (18)
P0  Pi 1+ ( Pi  P0 ) Silicone Dragon skin 10, Smooth on Inc.), an intermediate
layer and an elastomeric outer skin (material: Silicone
E. Variable expansion ratio Ecoflex 00-30, Smooth on Inc.). The intermediate layer
includes fibre windings (material: #2, Yunshangpiao Inc.), a
As shown in Fig. 3(e), the parameters Li , Ai , Vdead ,i and strain limiting sheet (material: polyethene) and tailored
0
V eia , i are constants in this case: carbon fibre plates (thickness: 0.5 mm). The proposed EIA is
fabricated based on a multi-step moulding process [25]
Li =L , Ai =A , Vdead ,i  Vdead , Veia0 ,i =Veia0 . (19) combined with intermediate layer attachment. The moulds
Substituting (19) into (5) yields and the end cap are 3D-printed with a J750 printer (Stratasys
P ( LA+Vdead  Veia0 )  Pi ( LA  Vdead  Ad  Veia0 ) Ltd.). The EIA produces an articulated bending motion upon
i  0 . (20) the pressurized air due to the anisotropic strain limitations of
Veia0 Pi ( Pi  P0 )
strain limiting sheet and carbon fibre plates.

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Fig. 4 Parameter initialization for simulations. (a) Structure of the

fibre-reinforced bending EIA. (b) A customed paper rule is attached to the
cylinder.

TABLE I. THE DATA COLLECTED FROM THE CALIBRATION PROCESS FOR

THE CALCULATION OF THE EXPANSION RATIO

The initial volume of the EIA, Veia0 =5033 mm3 , is

obtained from the CAD software (Solidworks 2016b). The
expansion ratio of the EIA,  , is calculated through a
calibration process. In this process, the calibration pressure
Pc is set from 110 kPaA to 200 kPaA with a step of 10 kPaA.
To record the push distance of the piston, we attach customed
paper rules to the outer wall of the cylinders (see Fig. 4(b)).
Fig. 5 Simulation of five cases with initialized parameters: (a) variable Ai , (b)
We regulate the cylinder length Lc , which meets the
variable Li , (c) variable Vdead ,i , (d) variable Veia0 ,i , and (e) variable  i .
following requirement: when the piston touches the cylinder
head, the system pressure exactly reaches Pc . The results are
markers on the EIA’s base and two markers on its tip. A
shown in Table I. Thus, the volume of EIA at this moment,
camera records the marker positions during its bending
Veia , c , can be calculated as: process upon pressurization (from 100 to 180 kPaA with a
P0 ( Lc A  Veia0 +Vdead ) step of 10 kPaA). The bending angle  is denoted as the
Veia , c   Vdead . (22) angle generated by the tip vector (formed by 2 markers on the
Pc
tip) and the reference vector markers (formed by 2 markers on
Therefore, a scatter diagram reflecting the relationship the base). A detailed description of the calibration process is
between Veia , c and Pc is obtained. According to (4), Veia , c shown in our previous work [17]. As shown in Fig. 7, the
can also be approximately linearized as relationship between the bending angle and the supplied
Veia , c =Veia0 1+ c ( Pc  P0 )  =Veia0 1+ ( Pj  P0 )  . (23) pressure can be approximatively described by a quadratic
polynomial:
where the fitting coefficient,  , is solved in Matlab using the 2
  0.01334 Psupply  1.30485Psupply (24)
least square method. Combining (22) and (23), we obtain
As an example, we set the target bending angles of EIAs as
 =0.01458 kPaA 1 . The simulation results are shown in Fig.
 =(80 , 100 ,120 ,140 ,160 ,180 ). According to these
5. For a certain d , the increase of pressure results in the
angles, the target pressures can be calculated by solving (24):
increase of Ai but the decrease of Li , Vdead ,i , Veia0 ,i and i . Ptarget =(140.5, 148.3,155.6,162.4,168.8,174.9) kPaA .
For a certain Pi , the increase of d results in the decrease of
Ai but the increase of Li , Vdead ,i , Veia0 ,i and i .

V. EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION
In this section, we develop a SIPM prototype with
structural hardware parameters derived from simulation. The
prototype is connected to 6 EIAs for experimental
demonstration. The target pressures of the SIPM prototype
are preset according to EIAs’ bending angles.
A. Pressure-bending characterization of the EIA
A visual calibration process is conducted to characterize
the EIAs’ bending angles. As shown in Fig. 6, we attach two Fig. 6 Marker distributions and angle calculations in the calibration process.

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Fig. 7 Characterization of the bending angle with varied supplied pressure.

B. SIPM prototype
As shown in Fig. 8(a), we build a SIPM prototype Fig. 8 Setup for synergistic control of bending EIAs. (a) The hardware of the
consisting of a sliding table (SGK1204-200, Yuandi Inc.), system. (b) The flow block diagram.
cylinder-piston array, 6 EIAs, 6 pressure sensors (XGZP6847,
CFSensor Inc.), 2 microprogrammed control units (MCUs, and Video 1. The pressure sensors measure the pressures of
Arduino Nano, Italy), and a computer. The sliding table each EIA (see Fig. 10). For each case, we compare the target
contains a stepper motor (Ouli Inc.) which is driven by a operating pressure Pi * and measured operating pressure Pi *
stepper motor driver. The cylinder-piston array employs
off-the-shelf syringes to allow for airtightness, replaceability (see Table I). Furthermore, we calculate the relative error
and affordability. We replace the pushrod of each syringe e = ( Pi *  Pi ) Pi . The results are shown in Table I. In case B,
with a 3D-printed rod connected to the push plate by the rod the maximum relative error (2.23%) occurs at pressure 140.5
gland. The rod position can be manually regulated when the kPaA; in case C, the maximum relative error (2.57%) occurs
gland is loose and locked when the gland is tight. The flow at pressure 162.4 kPaA. The relative errors in case B are
chart, including the control signal, the feedback signal and the overall more minor than those in case C (1.70% vs. 2.21% for
pneumatic channel, is described in Fig. 8(b). average relative error), which may be due to tubes’
The hardware structural parameters of the SIPM are deformation upon pressurization. Other errors may originate
calculated with simulation. The results are shown in Table II. from the assembly of cylinders and rods, pressure sensor
In case A, the solution Ai series cannot be realized by the drifts and external interference, which will be reduced or
off-the-shelf syringes because the cylinder choice set (116.9 eliminated in future works.
mm2, 176.7 mm2, 286.5 mm2, 383.6 mm2 and 669.7 mm2 for
5 mL, 10 mL, 20 mL, 30 mL and 50 mL standard syringes, TABLE II. DESIGN OF STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS
respectively) is limited. It is impossible to utilize cylinders
with customized inner cross-sections, but they should be
carefully designed and fabricated to avoid air leakage. Case D
and case E are not considered because we use the same EIAs
in this paper. Therefore, we focus on cases B and C. We
choose the 30 mL syringe considering its read-made cylinder
length (110 mm) and relatively small cross-section area
(383.6 mm2). For case B, we tailor the lengths of syringe
cylinders according to the theoretical predictions. For case C,
we employ the 4 mm-diameter tubes to constitute dead
volumes. The tube lengths are tailored as 179.4 mm, 126.2
mm, 88.7 mm, 60.8 mm, 38.9 mm, and 20.8 mm according to
the theoretical predictions of Vdead ,i .

C. Experimental results
We command the stepper motor with the sliding table to
push the cylinder-piston array whose hardware structural
parameters are derived from cases B and C. The push speed is
set as 4 mm/s. The experiment processes are shown in Fig. 9

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Substituting (7) and (A1) into (A2) yields:

 A  K1 ( K 2  K 3 ) / K 4 K5 , (A4)
where
 K1  Pb  Pa , K 2  dP0 (Veia0 +Vdead ),
 0
 K 3  Veia   Pb Pa d  Pb Pa L  P0 L( Pb  Pa  P0 ) . (A5)
 K  P d  P L  P L, K  P d  P L  P L
 4 b b 0 5 a a 0

Looking back on (8), the equation can only be solved when

( P  P0 ) L
Pi d  Pi L  P0 L  0 or d  i . (A6)
Pi
Therefore, according to (A1) and (A6), we obtain
K1 , K 2 , K 4 , K 5  0 . For K3 , we have
K 3  Veia0   Pa ( Pb  P0 ) L  Pb Pa L  P0 L( Pb  Pa  P0 ) 
. (A7)
 Veia0  P0 L ( Pb  P0 )  0
Thus, we obtain K  0 , i.e., Ai increases with the increase of
Fig. 9 The control processes in (a) case B, and (b) case C.
Pi for a certain d .

B. The monotonicity of Li with varied Pi

A function is generated to explore the monotonicity of Li

with respect to varied Pi .
 L  Lb  La . (A8)
Substituting (11) and (A1) into (A8) yields
(Pa  Pb )  P0 dA  Veia0  ( Pa  P0 )( Pb  P0 ) 
L = 0. (A9)
A( Pb  P0 )( Pa  P0 )
Fig. 10 The pressure variations in (a) case B, and (b) case C. The The results prove that when d is fixed, the increase of Pi
experimental results are represented in solid lines and are averaged for n = 3
measurements at each data point; dash lines represent the target pressures. yields decrease of Li .

VI. CONCLUSIONS C. The monotonicity of Vdead , i with varied Pi

In summary, we have presented hardware programmable A function is generated to explore the monotonicity of
SIPMs to control multiple EIAs with a single input. A Vdead , i with respect to varied Pi .
nonlinear model based on air compressibility is established.  D  Vdead , b  Vdead , a .
The variations of structural parameters for pneumatic (A10)
pressures are analyzed and simulated. A SIPM prototype is Substituting (15) and (A1) into (A10) yields
created in accordance with the simulation results, and the  D  G1 (G2  G3 ) / G4 G5 , (A11)
experimental results validate the effectiveness of the where
simulation results. G1  Pa  Pb , G2  P0 Ad
Although we only consider cases B and C for simulation  0
validation, we can find a good agreement between the G3  Veia  Pb Pa  P0 ( P0  Pa  Pb )  . (A12)
simulation predictions and experimental results (with a G  P  P , G  P  P
relative error of less than 2.57%). The implementation of  4 b 0 5 a 0

other cases will be investigated in our future work. In general, Substituting (A1) into G3 , we have
this study takes a step toward simplifying soft-robotic G1  0, G2 , G4 , G5  0, G3  Veia0 Pb Pa  0, . (A13)
systems with multiple outputs. Thus, we obtain  D  0 , i.e., Vdead , i increases with the
APPENDIX decrease of Pi for a certain d .
A. The monotonicity of Ai with varied Pi D. The monotonicity of Vdead , i with varied Pi
Assume the target pressures of two EIAs are Pa and Pb , A function is generated to explore the monotonicity of
respectively. They meet the following condition: Veia0 ,i with varied Pi :
Pa =Pa  P0 , Pb =Pb  P0 . (A1)
 I =Veia0 ,b  Veia0 , a . (A14)
A function is generated to explore the monotonicity of Ai
Substituting (18) and (A1) into (A9) yields
with respect to varied Pi :
 I  J1 ( J 2  J 3 ) / J 4 , (A15)
 A  Ab  Aa . (A2) where

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 2021 27th International Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice (M2VIP)

 J1  Pa  Pb , J 2  ( Pa Pb  P0 ) Ad unidirectionally stretchable composite laminae,” Nature

 Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-8, 2019.
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