Muscle-fiber inspired pneumatic artificial muscles for multiple-mode actuations

Researchers present a class of muscle-fiber array inspired, multiple-mode, pneumatic artificial muscles (MAIPAMs), consisting of active 3D elastomer-balloon arrays reinforced by a passive 2D elastomer membrane, through planar design and one-step rolling fabrication. They introduce the prototypical designs of MAIPAMs and demonstrate their muscle-mimic structures and versatility, as well as their scalable ability for contraction and twisting actuations and self-sensing. They further demonstrate their promising potentials for versatile robotic applications.