Software robot and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of soft manipulator and its manufacturing method, soft manipulator includes multiple flexible actuators, each flexible actuator has pneumatic deformation cavity;Flexible actuator has multiple first channels and multiple second channels independently arranged between its inner wall surface and outer wall surface, first channel is filled with first liquid flexible matrix material, second channel is filled with solidification treatment material, the state of crack of flexible actuator, first channel and second channel can be connected by crack to make first liquid flexible matrix material and solidification treatment material can flow into crack and mix, and first liquid flexible matrix material can be solidified to form solid flexible sealing body and fill crack.The application can avoid further expansion of crack to cause gas leakage in pneumatic deformation cavity, which is conducive to ensuring the normal operation of gas drive, but also can avoid the wall of flexible actuator to be damaged to cause its structural strength to reduce, which is conducive to improving the gripping performance of flexible actuator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of soft robotics, and in particular, to a soft manipulator and its manufacturing method. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of robotics technology, dexterous hands, which are robotic hands capable of flexible human hand movements, have shown broad application prospects in fields such as industrial automation, medical rehabilitation, and bionic robots as core components for human-computer interaction and precision operation. In particular, soft dexterous hands utilize the flexibility of their materials to distribute stress evenly throughout the contact area, thereby enabling them to grasp objects of different sizes, shapes, and weights, while also possessing the advantages of safety, lightness, and high flexibility.

[0003] Gas-driven soft dexterous hands are currently the most widely used. However, if gas-driven hands are to achieve more complex and precise operations, the corresponding gas path design will also be more complex. However, due to the poor sealing performance of current soft dexterous hands, it is difficult to achieve complex gas path designs, which makes it difficult for soft dexterous hands to achieve more complex and precise operations. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a soft manipulator and its manufacturing method to solve the technical problems of poor sealing performance and difficulty in achieving complex air circuit design in current soft dexterous hands, which makes it difficult for soft dexterous hands to achieve more complex and precise operations.

[0005] The above-mentioned objectives of the present invention can be achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0006] This invention provides a soft manipulator, comprising multiple flexible actuators, each having at least one pneumatic deformation cavity; wherein each flexible actuator has multiple independently arranged first channels and multiple second channels between its inner and outer wall surfaces, the first channels being filled with a first liquid flexible matrix material, and the second channels being filled with a curing material; when the flexible actuator generates a crack, the first channels and the second channels can be connected through the crack, allowing the first liquid flexible matrix material and the curing material to flow into and mix in the crack, and the first liquid flexible matrix material can solidify to form a solid flexible seal and fill the crack.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible actuator includes a flexible deformable body and at least one self-healing sealing layer. The pneumatic deformation cavity is located within the flexible deformable body, and the flexible deformable body has at least one repair layer channel between its inner and outer wall surfaces. The self-healing sealing layer is disposed within the repair layer channel. The first liquid flexible matrix material is encapsulated by a capsule shell to form a first capsule, and the cured material is encapsulated by a capsule shell to form a second capsule. A plurality of the first capsules and a plurality of the second capsules are distributed within at least one of the self-healing sealing layers.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first liquid flexible matrix material includes a liquid prepolymer, and the curing treatment material includes a crosslinking agent and a catalyst; wherein the liquid prepolymer is vinyl PDMS, the crosslinking agent is a hydrogen-containing siloxane, and the catalyst is a platinum catalyst.

[0009] In embodiments of the present invention, the outer wall surface of each of the flexible actuators includes a palmar side facing the palm of the soft manipulator and a dorsal side facing away from the palm of the soft manipulator. The pneumatic deformation cavity of each of the flexible actuators includes a plurality of air cavity units disposed near the dorsal side and an internal connecting air passage disposed near the palmar side and connecting the plurality of air cavity units in series. The plurality of first channels and the plurality of second channels of each of the flexible actuators are distributed between its inner wall surface and the dorsal side.

[0010] In embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of flexible actuators include a flexible palm actuator, a plurality of flexible finger actuators, a flexible thumb actuator, and a flexible thenar eminence actuator. The front end of the flexible palm actuator is connected to the plurality of flexible finger actuators through a palm-finger rigid connection structure. The rear end of the flexible palm actuator is connected to the rear end of the flexible thenar eminence actuator through a palm rigid connection structure. The front end of the flexible thenar eminence actuator is connected to the flexible thumb actuator through a thumb thenar eminence rigid connection structure. The soft robotic hand also includes a palm-finger flexible connection structure, which is installed at the front end of the palm-finger rigid connection structure. The rear ends of each flexible finger actuator pass through the palm-finger flexible connection structure and are connected to the palm-finger rigid connection structure.

[0011] In embodiments of the present invention, the dorsal side of the flexible finger actuator and the dorsal side of the flexible thumb actuator both include a fingertip bevel and two corrugated surfaces arranged front and rear. Both the flexible finger actuator and the flexible thumb actuator include two pneumatic deformation cavities arranged front and rear. Each pneumatic deformation cavity has multiple peak air cavity units corresponding to and connected in series with the corrugated surfaces, and the pneumatic deformation cavity located in front also has a fingertip air cavity unit corresponding to the fingertip bevel. The dorsal side of the flexible palm actuator and the dorsal side of the flexible thenar eminence actuator both include multiple corrugated surfaces arranged side-by-side. The pneumatic deformation cavities of both the flexible palm actuator and the flexible thenar eminence actuator each have multiple corrugated air cavities arranged in parallel and corresponding to the multiple corrugated surfaces, and each corrugated air cavity has multiple peak air cavity units arranged in series.

[0012] In embodiments of the present invention, both the flexible palm actuator and the flexible thenar eminence actuator are provided with built-in air supply channels. Both the palm-finger rigid connection structure and the thumb-thenar eminence rigid connection structure are provided with first connecting air channels corresponding to and communicating with the built-in air supply channels. The pneumatic deformation cavity of the flexible finger actuator is connected to the corresponding built-in air supply channel in the flexible palm actuator via the corresponding first connecting air channel. The pneumatic deformation cavity of the flexible thumb actuator is connected to the built-in air supply channel of the flexible thenar eminence actuator via the first connecting air channel of the thumb-thenar eminence rigid connection structure. The palm rigid connection structure is provided with multiple second connecting air channels and multiple third connecting air channels. The pneumatic deformation cavities of the flexible palm actuator and the flexible thenar eminence actuator are connected to corresponding control air channels via corresponding second connecting air channels. The built-in air supply channels of the flexible palm actuator and the flexible thenar eminence actuator are connected to corresponding control air channels via corresponding third connecting air channels.

[0013] In embodiments of the present invention, each of the flexible actuators has at least one flexible pressure sensing structure on its palmar side. The flexible pressure sensing structure has two stacked temperature detection layers and a pressure detection layer located between the two temperature detection layers. One temperature detection layer is installed on the palmar side of the flexible actuator. The resistance of the pressure detection layer changes with pressure, and the resistance of the temperature detection layer changes with temperature. Specifically, the flexible finger actuator has one flexible pressure sensing structure at the fingertip and one at the knuckle of its palmar side; the flexible palm actuator has one flexible pressure sensing structure on the upper part of its palmar side; the flexible thenar eminence actuator has one flexible pressure sensing structure on the upper part of its palmar side; and the flexible thumb actuator has one flexible pressure sensing structure at the fingertip and other parts of its palmar side.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present invention, the outer wall surface of the flexible actuator has a sealing coating, and the material of the sealing coating is a nano-silica flexible composite material.

[0015] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a soft robotic arm, the method comprising the following steps: preparing a flexible deformable body for each of the flexible actuators; wherein the flexible deformable body has at least one pneumatic deformation cavity, and at least one repair layer channel is formed between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface of the flexible deformable body; preparing a plurality of first capsules filled with a first liquid flexible matrix material and a plurality of second capsules filled with the curing treatment material; mixing the plurality of first capsules and the plurality of second capsules with a second liquid flexible matrix material to obtain a self-healing liquid, injecting the self-healing liquid into the repair layer channel, thereby curing the second liquid flexible matrix material to form a self-healing sealing layer, the self-healing sealing layer cooperating with the flexible deformable body to form the flexible actuator; and assembling the plurality of flexible actuators into the soft robotic arm.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first liquid flexible matrix material is vinyl PDMS, and the curing treatment material is a mixture of hydrogen-containing siloxane and platinum catalyst; the preparation of the first capsule and the second capsule includes the following steps: mixing the vinyl PDMS and polymeric MDI at a mass ratio of 100:20 to form a first oil phase; slowly adding the first oil phase dropwise to a 1.0wt%~2.0wt% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol, and subjecting it to high-speed shearing to form a first oil-in-water emulsion; the polymeric MDI in the first oil-in-water emulsion reacts with the aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol at room temperature and matures, so that the surface of the vinyl PDMS droplets in the first oil-in-water emulsion... A polyurea shell is formed and densified, which encapsulates the droplets of vinyl PDMS to form the first capsule; a second oil phase is formed by mixing the mixture of the hydrogen-containing siloxane and the platinum catalyst with polymeric MDI at a mass ratio of 100:20; the second oil phase is slowly added dropwise to a 1.0wt%~2.0wt% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol and subjected to high-speed shearing to form a second oil-in-water emulsion; the polymeric MDI in the second oil-in-water emulsion reacts with the aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol at room temperature and is cured, so that a polyurea shell is formed and densified on the surface of the droplets of the mixture in the second oil-in-water emulsion, which encapsulates the droplets of the mixture to form the second capsule.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present invention, the second liquid flexible matrix material is PDMS containing fumed silica; the preparation of the self-healing sealing layer includes the following steps: mixing a plurality of first capsules and a plurality of second capsules with PDMS containing fumed silica to form the self-healing liquid; wherein the volume ratio of the plurality of first capsules and the plurality of second capsules is 1:1, and the total volume percentage of the plurality of first capsules and the plurality of second capsules in the self-healing liquid is 8 vol% to 12 vol%; injecting the self-healing liquid into the repair layer channel; the second liquid flexible matrix material is cured at room temperature to form the self-healing sealing layer.

[0018] The features and advantages of this invention are:

[0019] The soft manipulator of the present invention, by setting multiple first channels and multiple second channels between the inner and outer walls of the flexible actuator, and filling the first channels with a first liquid flexible matrix material and the second channels with a solidified material, allows the first and second channels to connect through the cracks when the flexible actuator deforms and bends under the pressure of the pneumatic deformation chamber, causing local stress concentration and cracks or pinholes. This allows the first liquid flexible matrix material and the solidified material to flow into the cracks and mix. Subsequently, the first liquid flexible matrix material is solidified by the solidified material to form a solid flexible seal and fill the cracks. On the one hand, this prevents the cracks from expanding further and causing gas leakage in the pneumatic deformation chamber, thus ensuring the normal operation of the gas drive. On the other hand, it prevents damage to the walls of the flexible actuator and reduces its structural strength, thereby improving the gripping performance of the flexible actuator.

[0020] The manufacturing method of the soft manipulator of the present invention involves first preparing a flexible deformable body with a pneumatic deformation cavity and a repair layer channel, then mixing a first liquid flexible matrix material and a curing treatment material with a second liquid flexible matrix material in the form of a first capsule and a second capsule respectively to form a self-healing liquid, and then injecting the self-healing liquid into the repair layer channel, so that the second liquid flexible matrix material solidifies and cooperates with the first capsule and the second capsule to form a self-healing sealing layer. This avoids the mixing of the first liquid flexible matrix material and the curing treatment material during the preparation of the flexible actuator, which would cause the first liquid flexible matrix material to solidify prematurely and affect the performance of the self-healing seal. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the back side of the soft robotic arm in this invention.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the palmar side of the soft robotic hand in this invention.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a partial cross-sectional view of a flexible actuator in this invention.

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the pneumatic deformation cavity of a flexible actuator in this invention.

[0026] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a connection structure in this invention.

[0027] Figure 6 This is a top view of a connection structure in this invention.

[0028] Figure 7 This is a front view of a connection structure in this invention.

[0029] Figure 8 This is a side view of a connection structure in the present invention.

[0030] In the picture:

[0031] 1. Flexible actuator; 11. Pneumatic deformation cavity; 110. Air cavity unit; 111. Wave crest air cavity unit; 112. Fingertip air cavity unit; 113. Internal connecting air passage; 12. Inner wall surface; 13. Outer wall surface; 131. Palm side surface; 132. Back side surface; 133. Corrugated surface; 134. Fingertip bevel; 14. Flexible deformable body; 141. Repair layer channel; 15. Self-healing sealing layer; 151. First capsule; 1511. First channel; 152. Second capsule; 1521. Second channel; 16. Sealing coating;

[0032] 10. Flexible palm actuator; 20. Flexible finger actuator; 30. Flexible thumb actuator; 40. Flexible thenar eminence actuator;

[0033] 21. Rigid palmar-finger connection structure; 211. Finger connecting block; 212. Front end connecting block of palm; 22. Rigid palm connection structure; 221. Rear end connecting block of palm; 222. Palm fixing block; 223. Rear end connecting block of the thenar eminence; 23. Rigid thenar eminence connection structure of thumb; 231. Thumb connecting block; 232. Front end connecting block of the thenar eminence; 201. Connecting hole; 202. Vent hole; 203. Sealing tube column;

[0034] 3. Flexible palmar-finger connection structure;

[0035] 4. Flexible pressure sensing structure;

[0036] 5. Robotic arm connector. Detailed Implementation

[0037] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0038] Implementation Method 1

[0039] like Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the present invention provides a soft manipulator, including multiple flexible actuators 1, each flexible actuator 1 having at least one pneumatic deformation cavity 11; wherein, the flexible actuator 1 has multiple first channels 1511 and multiple second channels 1521 independently arranged between its inner wall surface 12 and outer wall surface 13, the first channel 1511 is filled with a first liquid flexible matrix material, and the second channel 1521 is filled with a solidified material. When the flexible actuator 1 generates a crack, the first channel 1511 and the second channel 1521 can be connected through the crack, allowing the first liquid flexible matrix material and the solidified material to flow into the crack and mix, and the first liquid flexible matrix material can solidify to form a solid flexible seal and fill the crack.

[0040] The soft manipulator of the present invention, by providing multiple first channels 1511 and multiple second channels 1521 between the inner wall surface 12 and the outer wall surface 13 of the flexible actuator 1, and filling the first channels 1511 with a first liquid flexible matrix material and the second channels 1521 with a solidified material, allows the first channels 1511 and the second channels 1521 to connect through cracks when the flexible actuator 1 deforms and bends under the air pressure of the pneumatic deformation cavity 11, causing local stress concentration and cracks or pinholes. This allows the first liquid flexible matrix material and the solidified material to flow into the cracks and mix. The first liquid flexible matrix material is then solidified by the solidified material to form a solid flexible seal that fills the cracks. This prevents the cracks from expanding further and causing gas leakage in the pneumatic deformation cavity 11, thus ensuring the normal operation of the gas drive. It also prevents damage to the wall of the flexible actuator 1, thus reducing its structural strength and improving the gripping performance of the flexible actuator 1.

[0041] Specifically, the first liquid flexible matrix material includes a liquid prepolymer, and the curing treatment material includes a crosslinking agent and a catalyst. When the liquid prepolymer, crosslinking agent, and catalyst flow into the crack and mix, the liquid prepolymer and crosslinking agent undergo a crosslinking and curing reaction under the action of the catalyst to form a solid flexible seal. Specifically, the liquid prepolymer is vinyl PDMS (i.e., vinyl polydimethylsiloxane), the crosslinking agent is a hydrogen-containing siloxane, and the catalyst is a platinum catalyst. In addition, the curing treatment material may also include a small amount of inhibitors, such as alkynyl alcohols, polyvinyl polysiloxanes, or nitrogen-containing compounds, to inhibit the activity of the platinum catalyst and improve the storage stability of the platinum catalyst in the second channel 1521. To further improve the sealing performance of the flexible actuator 1, in an embodiment of the present invention, the outer wall surface 13 of the flexible actuator 1 has a sealing coating 16, and the material of the sealing coating 16 is a nano-silica flexible composite material.

[0042] Of course, other first liquid flexible matrix materials in the prior art can also be selected, and corresponding curing treatment materials can be selected according to their curing characteristics. As long as the first liquid flexible matrix material can be cured to form a solid flexible seal after being mixed with the curing treatment material, it should fall within the protection scope of this invention.

[0043] The size of the first channel 1511 and the second channel 1521 is not specifically limited. The distribution of the first channel 1511 and the second channel 1521 is preferably designed according to the stress characteristics of the flexible actuator 1. For example, the flexible actuator 1 has a larger and denser distribution of the first channel 1511 and the second channel 1521 in high-stress areas such as fingertips and joints, while the distribution of the first channel 1511 and the second channel 1521 is relatively reduced in areas where the stress is more stable. Of course, the first channel 1511 and the second channel 1521 can also be evenly distributed in all areas of the flexible actuator 1.

[0044] like Figure 3As shown, to facilitate the processing and manufacturing of the flexible actuator 1, and to achieve the filling of the first liquid flexible matrix material and the curing treatment material into the first channel 1511 and the second channel 1521, in this embodiment of the invention, the flexible actuator 1 includes a flexible deformable body 14 and at least one self-healing sealing layer 15. A pneumatic deformation cavity 11 is located within the flexible deformable body 14, and the flexible deformable body 14 has at least one repair layer channel 141 between its inner wall surface 12 and outer wall surface 13. The self-healing sealing layer 15 is disposed within the repair layer channel 141. The first liquid flexible matrix material is encapsulated by a capsule shell to form a first capsule 151, and the curing treatment material is encapsulated by the capsule shell to form a second adhesive. The capsule 152, comprising multiple first capsules 151 and multiple second capsules 152, is distributed within at least one self-healing sealing layer 15. Specifically, the capsule shells of each first capsule 151 form a first channel 1511 within the self-healing sealing layer 15, and the capsule shells of each second capsule 152 form a second channel 1521 within the self-healing sealing layer 15. This achieves the filling of the first liquid flexible matrix material and the cured material within the first channel 1511 and the second channel 1521, and allows the multiple first channels 1511 and multiple second channels 1521 distributed within the self-healing sealing layer 15 to form a dense network, which is beneficial for improving the sealing performance of the self-healing sealing layer 15. Furthermore, the number of self-healing sealing layers 15 can be configured as multiple layers from the inside out, thereby further improving the sealing performance of the flexible actuator 1. In this embodiment, the diameter range of the first capsule 151 (i.e., the diameter range of the first channel 1511) is 100μm to 150μm, and the diameter range of the second capsule 152 (i.e., the diameter range of the second channel 1521) is 80μm to 120μm. The volume ratio of the plurality of first capsules 151 and the plurality of second capsules 152 is preferably 1:1.

[0045] When the flexible actuator 1 deforms and bends, the first capsule 151 and the second capsule 152 will rupture, causing the first liquid flexible matrix material and the cured material to flow out. Then, when the flexible actuator 1 develops cracks, the flowed first liquid flexible matrix material and the cured material will flow into the cracks and mix.

[0046] In some embodiments of the present invention, a flexible deformable body 14 of the repair layer channel 141 is first prepared. Then, a plurality of first capsules 151 and a plurality of second capsules 152 are mixed with a second liquid flexible matrix material to form a self-healing liquid. The self-healing liquid is then injected into the flexible deformable body 14 until the second liquid flexible matrix material solidifies, thereby forming a self-healing sealing layer 15. The second liquid flexible matrix material is not specifically limited, as long as it ensures that the capsule shells of the first capsules 151 and the second capsules 152 are not dissolved by the second liquid flexible matrix material, causing the internal liquid to leak out. In this embodiment, the second liquid flexible matrix material is PDMS containing fumed silica.

[0047] In other embodiments of the present invention, an inner flexible layer with a plurality of first channels 1511 and a plurality of second channels 1521 on its outer wall surface can be formed first, then a plurality of first capsules 151 can be embedded into the plurality of first channels 1511, a plurality of second capsules 152 can be embedded into the plurality of second channels 1521, and then an outer flexible layer can be formed outside the inner flexible layer to cover the plurality of first channels 1511 and the plurality of second channels 1521.

[0048] The specific preparation process of the first capsule 151 and the second capsule 152 is described in Embodiment 2, and will not be detailed here. Of course, the first capsule 151 and the second capsule 152 can also be prepared by referring to other existing liquid capsule preparation methods.

[0049] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in order to improve the flexible gripping ability of the flexible robotic hand, in this embodiment of the invention, the multiple flexible actuators 1 include a flexible palm actuator 10, multiple flexible finger actuators 20, a flexible thumb actuator 30, and a flexible thenar eminence actuator 40. Specifically, there are four finger actuators, which respectively simulate the movements of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger.

[0050] In the soft robotic hand of the present invention, each pneumatic deformation cavity 11 of the flexible finger actuator 20 and the flexible thumb actuator 30 is equivalent to forming a finger joint, the flexible palm actuator 10 is equivalent to a metacarpophalangeal joint, and the flexible thenar actuator 40 is equivalent to forming a thenar joint between the flexible thumb actuator 30 and the flexible palm actuator 10. Therefore, through the elastic deformation and joint linkage of each flexible actuator 1, three basic grasping modes can be realized: strong gripping of heavy objects, fine pinching of small objects, and thumb-dominant thenar grasping, thereby covering most daily grasping scenarios. In the mode of gripping heavy objects, all joints of the soft robotic hand bend synchronously, thereby enveloping the object in a stable gripping space formed by the fingertips and palm. In the mode of precisely grasping small objects, the flexible thumb actuator 30 and the flexible finger actuator 20 that simulates the index finger work together to achieve precise gripping of small objects. In the thumb gripping mode, the active deformation of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 and the coordinated action of the flexible thumb actuator 30 and each flexible finger actuator 20 achieve stable grasping of objects.

[0051] In addition, combined Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, in order to improve the deformation capability of each flexible actuator 1 and thus enhance its flexible gripping capability, the outer wall surface 13 of each flexible actuator 1 includes a palm side 131 facing the palm of the soft manipulator and a back side 132 facing away from the palm of the soft manipulator. The pneumatic deformation cavity 11 of each flexible actuator 1 includes multiple air cavity units 110 located near the back side 132 and an internal connecting air passage 113 located near the palm side 131 and connecting the multiple air cavity units 110 in series. Multiple first channels 1511 and multiple second channels 1521 of each flexible actuator 1, i.e., self-healing sealing layers 15, are distributed between its inner wall surface 12 and back side 132, thereby enabling the back side 132 of each flexible actuator 1 to have a large bending deformation capability. It can also achieve self-healing sealing by using the first liquid flexible matrix material in the first channel 1511 and the curing treatment material in the second channel 1521, ensuring the sealing performance of each air cavity unit 110.

[0052] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 as well as Figure 4 As shown, specifically, the palm side 131 of each flexible actuator 1 is generally a plane, and the back side 132 of each flexible actuator 1 has at least one corrugated surface 133, so that the pneumatic deformation cavity 11 forms a plurality of crested air cavity units 111. In embodiments of the present invention, the dorsal side 132 of the flexible finger actuator 20 and the dorsal side 132 of the flexible thumb actuator 30 both include a fingertip slope 134 and two corrugated surfaces 133 arranged in front and behind. The flexible finger actuator 20 and the flexible thumb actuator 30 both have two pneumatic deformation cavities 11 arranged in front and behind. The pneumatic deformation cavity 11 has multiple peak air cavity units 111 that correspond to and are connected in series with the corrugated surfaces 133, and the pneumatic deformation cavity 11 located in front also has a fingertip air cavity unit 112 that corresponds to the fingertip slope 134. The dorsal side 132 of the flexible palm actuator 10 and the dorsal side 132 of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 both include multiple corrugated surfaces 133 arranged side by side. The pneumatic deformation cavities 11 of the flexible palm actuator 10 and the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 both have multiple corrugated air cavities that are connected in parallel and correspond to the multiple corrugated surfaces 133, and each corrugated air cavity has multiple peak air cavity units 111 that are connected in series.

[0053] The fingertip air chamber unit 112 has a right-angled trapezoidal longitudinal cross-section, and each wave crest air chamber unit 111 has a roughly cylindrical longitudinal cross-section with oblique ends. This results in each corrugated surface 133 having two conical surfaces corresponding to each wave crest air chamber unit 111 and a cylindrical surface located between the two conical surfaces. This avoids bulging of the flexible actuator 1 due to local gas concentration, and also makes the wall thickness of the flexible actuator 1 more uniform, thereby reducing stress concentration and enabling it to withstand higher internal pressure and achieve optimal deformation. The fingertip air chamber unit 112 and each wave crest air chamber unit 111 have a roughly fan-shaped transverse cross-section, with a preferred arc of 300°.

[0054] like Figure 1 As shown, in an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible manipulator has twelve pneumatic deformation cavities 11, which are connected to twelve control air paths to control the flexible manipulator's movements. Specifically, the flexible fingers of the four-finger actuator and the flexible thumb of the thumb actuator each have two pneumatic deformation cavities 11 arranged front and rear and connected to two control air paths respectively, that is, a total of ten air paths connected to ten control air paths; the flexible palm of the palm actuator has four corrugated air cavities, which are connected to form a pneumatic deformation cavity 11 connected to a control air path; the flexible thenar eminence has two corrugated air cavities, which are connected to form a pneumatic deformation cavity 11 connected to a control air path.

[0055] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in the embodiments of the present invention, each flexible actuator 1 is connected to another flexible actuator 1 through a rigid connection structure, thereby realizing a detachable modular design of "flexible-rigid-flexible" and solving the problems of insufficient rigidity of the current purely flexible manipulator and insufficient flexibility of the rigid manipulator.

[0056] Specifically, the front end of the flexible palm actuator 10 is connected to multiple flexible finger actuators 20 via a palm-finger rigid connection structure 21, the rear end of the flexible palm actuator 10 is connected to the rear end of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 via a palm rigid connection structure 22, and the front end of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 is connected to the flexible thumb actuator 30 via a thumb thenar eminence rigid connection structure 23. This allows the flexible finger actuators 20, the palm-finger rigid connection structure 21, and the flexible palm actuator 10 to cooperate to form a detachable modular structure of "flexible-rigid-flexible". Similarly, the flexible thumb actuator 30, the thumb thenar eminence rigid connection structure 23, and the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 also cooperate to form a detachable modular structure of "flexible-rigid-flexible". Finally, the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40, the palm rigid connection structure 22, and the flexible palm actuator 10 also cooperate to form a detachable modular structure of "flexible-rigid-flexible".

[0057] The palm-finger rigid connection structure 21 includes a palm front-end connection block 212 and multiple finger connection blocks 211. The multiple finger connection blocks 211 are connected to the rear ends of multiple flexible finger actuators 20. The palm front-end connection block 212 is connected to the front end of the flexible palm actuator 10 and is connected to the multiple finger connection blocks 211. The palm rigid connection structure 22 includes a palm rear-end connection block 221, a palm fixing block 222, and a thenar eminence rear-end connection block 223. The palm fixing block 222 is connected to the rear end of the flexible palm actuator 10 through the palm rear-end connection block 221, and the palm fixing block 222 is connected to the rear end of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 through the thenar eminence rear-end connection block 223. The thumb thenar eminence rigid connection structure 23 includes a thenar eminence front-end connection block 232 and a thumb connection block 231. The thumb connection block 231 is connected to the rear end of the flexible thumb actuator 30 and is connected to the front end of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 through the thenar eminence front-end connection block 232. In addition, the palm fixing block 222 is connected to the existing robotic arm via the robotic arm connector 5.

[0058] Each flexible actuator 1's pneumatic deformation cavity 11 can be connected to the corresponding control air path through a rigid connection structure. However, in order to ensure that the gas in the control air path can be delivered more smoothly to each pneumatic deformation cavity 11, in the embodiments of the present invention, both the flexible palm actuator 10 and the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 are provided with built-in delivery air paths. The palm-finger rigid connection structure 21 and the thumb thenar eminence rigid connection structure 23 are provided with first connection air paths corresponding to and connected to the built-in delivery air paths. The pneumatic deformation cavity 11 of the flexible finger actuator 20 (specifically, the built-in connecting air path 113 of the pneumatic deformation cavity 11 of the flexible finger actuator 20) is connected to the corresponding built-in delivery air path in the flexible palm actuator 10 through the corresponding first connection air path. The pneumatic deformation cavity 11 of the flexible thumb actuator 30 (specifically, the built-in connecting air path 113 of the pneumatic deformation cavity 11 of the flexible thumb actuator 30) is connected to the built-in delivery air path of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 through the first connection air path of the thumb thenar eminence rigid connection structure 23. The rigid palm connection structure 22 is provided with multiple second connecting air passages and multiple third connecting air passages. The pneumatic deformation cavities 11 of the flexible palm actuator 10 and the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 are connected to the corresponding control air passages through the corresponding second connecting air passages. The built-in delivery air passages of the flexible palm actuator 10 and the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 are connected to the corresponding control air passages through the corresponding third connecting air passages. Specifically, the built-in delivery air passages of the flexible palm actuator 10 and the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 are both located close to their palm side 131.

[0059] like Figures 5 to 8As shown, taking the connection between the finger connecting block 211 and the palm front connecting block 212 as an example, both the finger connecting block 211 and the palm front connecting block 212 are provided with a vent 202, a sealing tube 203, and a connection hole 201. The finger connecting block 211 is sealed to the rear end of the flexible finger actuator 20 through its sealing tube 203 and is connected to the built-in air passage 113 of the pneumatic deformation cavity 11. The palm front connecting block 212 is sealed to the front end of the flexible palm actuator 10 through its sealing tube 203 and is connected to the corresponding built-in air delivery passage. The sealing tube of the finger connecting block 211... The column 203, the vent 202 of the finger connecting block 211, the vent 202 of the palm front connecting block 212, and the sealing column 203 of the palm front connecting block 212 are connected to form a first connecting air passage between the flexible finger actuator 20 and the flexible palm actuator 10. The connecting holes 201 of the finger connecting block 211 and the connecting holes 201 of the palm front connecting block 212 correspond to each other and are connected by connectors. In this embodiment, the connecting holes 201 of the finger connecting block 211 and the connecting holes 201 of the palm front connecting block 212 are provided with heat-fused nuts, thereby connecting them by connecting bolts. In addition, to improve the stability of the connection, multiple connecting holes 201 of the finger connecting block 211 and the connecting holes 201 of the palm front connecting block 212 are provided.

[0060] Combination Figure 1 , Figure 2 as well as Figures 5 to 8As shown, the connection between the palm rear end connecting block 221 and the palm fixing block 222, the connection between the thenar eminence rear end connecting block 223 and the palm fixing block 222, and the connection between the thumb connecting block 231 and the thenar eminence front connecting block 232 are the same as the connection between the finger connecting block 211 and the palm front connecting block 212. The number of vent holes 202, the number of connecting holes 201, and the number of sealing tubes 203 can be set as needed. A portion of the sealing column 203 of the palm rear end connecting block 221, a portion of the vent hole 202 of the palm rear end connecting block 221, a portion of the vent hole 202 of the palm fixing block 222, and a portion of the sealing column 203 of the palm fixing block 222 are correspondingly connected to form multiple second connecting air passages. This connects the internal connecting air passage 113 of the pneumatic deformation cavity 11 of the flexible palm actuator 10 and the internal connecting air passage 113 of the pneumatic deformation cavity 11 of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 to multiple control air passages. Another portion of the sealing column 203 of the palm rear end connecting block 221, another portion of the vent hole 202 of the palm rear end connecting block 221, another portion of the vent hole 202 of the palm fixing block 222, and another portion of the sealing column 203 of the palm fixing block 222 are correspondingly connected to form multiple third connecting air passages. These third connecting air passages are connected to multiple control air passages via the multiple sealing columns 203 of the palm fixing block 222, allowing multiple control air passages to pass through multiple third connecting air passages located in the flexible palm actuator 10. The multiple built-in air supply channels of the flexible finger actuator 20 and the multiple first connecting air channels of the palm-finger rigid connection structure 21 are correspondingly connected to the pneumatic deformation cavities 11 of each flexible finger actuator 20, thereby controlling the bending deformation of each flexible finger actuator 20 by inflation and deflation; similarly, the partial sealing column 203 of the thenar eminence rear end connecting block 223, the partial air vent 202 of the thenar eminence rear end connecting block 223, the partial air vent 202 of the palm fixing block 222, and the partial sealing column 203 of the palm fixing block 222 are correspondingly connected to form multiple third connecting air channels and are connected to multiple control air channels through the multiple sealing columns 203 of the palm fixing block 222, so that the multiple control air channels can be connected to the pneumatic deformation cavities 11 of the flexible thumb actuator 30 through the multiple third connecting air channels, the multiple built-in air supply channels of the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40, and the multiple first connecting air channels of the thumb thenar eminence rigid connection structure 23, thereby controlling the bending deformation of the flexible thumb actuator 30 by inflation and deflation.

[0061] Among them, combined Figures 4 to 8As shown, the sealing column 203 has an interference fit with the interface of its connected built-in air passage (i.e., built-in connecting air passage 113 or built-in delivery air passage). A sealing ring can be fitted onto the sealing column 203, and the sealing ring is in close contact with the inner wall surface 12 of the interface. The surface of the sealing ring has a honeycomb-like micro-protrusion structure, which increases the contact area and friction between it and the inner wall surface 12 of the interface. This not only improves the connection stability between the rigid connection structure 2 and the flexible actuator 1, but also improves the connection sealing performance between the rigid connection structure and the flexible actuator 1. The sealing column 203 can be, but is not limited to, a stepped column structure that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, and the interface is a stepped hole with a matching shape. The sealing ring can be, but is not limited to, a dual-hardness star-shaped sealing ring. The inner ring of the dual-hardness star-shaped sealing ring is made of fluororubber with higher hardness, providing structural strength and resistance to deformation. The outer ring of the dual-hardness star-shaped sealing ring is made of silicone rubber with lower hardness, providing good sealing performance and adaptability.

[0062] In addition, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the soft robotic hand also includes a flexible palmar-finger connection structure 3, which is installed at the front end of the rigid palmar-finger connection structure 21. The rear ends of each flexible finger actuator 20 pass through the flexible palmar-finger connection structure 3 and are connected to the rigid palmar-finger connection structure 21. By setting the flexible palmar-finger connection structure 3 to connect the rear ends of multiple flexible finger actuators 20, the overall integrity of the multiple flexible finger actuators 20 can be improved, making it easier for multiple flexible finger actuators 20 to cooperate in grasping larger objects. Specifically, the rear end of the flexible palmar-finger connection structure 3 can be connected to the front end of the rigid palmar-finger connection structure 21 by adhesive bonding, and the front end of the flexible palmar-finger connection structure 3 can also be connected to the lower part of each flexible finger actuator 20 by adhesive bonding.

[0063] like Figure 2 As shown, in an embodiment of the present invention, each flexible actuator 1 has at least one flexible pressure sensing structure 4 on its palm side 131. The flexible pressure sensing structure 4 is mounted on the palm side 131 of the flexible actuator 1. The flexible pressure sensing structure 4 has two stacked temperature detection layers and a pressure detection layer located between the two temperature detection layers. One temperature detection layer is mounted on the palm side 131 of the flexible actuator 1. The resistance of the pressure detection layer changes with pressure, and the resistance of the temperature detection layer changes with temperature. By setting two temperature detection layers that are in contact with the grasped object and the palm side 131 of the flexible actuator 1 respectively, the flexible pressure sensing structure 4 can perform temperature compensation on the pressure detection signal of the pressure detection layer based on the temperature monitoring signal of the temperature detection layer, thereby improving the accuracy of pressure detection.

[0064] The flexible pressure sensing structure 4 is electrically connected to the pneumatic control system. During the grasping process of the soft manipulator, the contact pressure is monitored by the flexible pressure sensing structure 4 coming into contact with the grasped object, and the obtained pressure information is fed back to the pneumatic control system of the soft manipulator. This allows the pneumatic control system to adjust the pressure of the pneumatic deformation cavity 11 according to the pressure information fed back by the flexible pressure sensing structure 4, so as to prevent the grasped object from slipping off the soft manipulator.

[0065] Specifically, the flexible finger actuator 20 has a flexible pressure sensing structure 4 on the fingertip and knuckle of its palmar surface 131; the flexible palm actuator 10 has a flexible pressure sensing structure 4 on the upper part of its palmar surface 131; the flexible thenar eminence actuator 40 has a flexible pressure sensing structure 4 on the upper part of its palmar surface 131; and the flexible thumb actuator 30 has a flexible pressure sensing structure 4 on the fingertip and other parts of its palmar surface 131. The temperature sensing layer can be, but is not limited to, carbon nanotubes. A temperature sensing layer can be fixed to the corresponding part of the palmar surface 131 of the flexible actuator 1 by adhesive bonding.

[0066] Furthermore, the pneumatic control system can be integrated with the depth camera vision system and the robotic arm control system into a host computer. The host computer serves as the core control hub, synchronously coordinating the pneumatic control system, the depth camera vision system, and the robotic arm control system through standardized communication protocols. Based on the shape and position information of the object being grasped, the system plans the grasping trajectory, forming a closed-loop control of perception-decision-execution, which is beneficial for achieving complex grasping of multiple objects in complex environments.

[0067] Implementation Method 2

[0068] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, the present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a soft robotic arm, used to manufacture a soft robotic arm. The specific structure, working principle, and beneficial effects of the soft robotic arm in this embodiment are the same as those in Embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0069] The manufacturing method of the present invention includes the following steps: preparing a flexible deformable body 14 for each flexible actuator 1; wherein the flexible deformable body 14 has at least one pneumatic deformation cavity 11, and at least one repair layer channel 141 is formed between the inner wall surface 12 and the outer wall surface 13 of the flexible deformable body 14; preparing a plurality of first capsules 151 filled with a first liquid flexible matrix material and a plurality of second capsules 152 filled with a curing treatment material; mixing the plurality of first capsules 151 and the plurality of second capsules 152 with a second liquid flexible matrix material to obtain a self-healing liquid, injecting the self-healing liquid into the repair layer channel 141, thereby curing the second liquid flexible matrix material to form a self-healing sealing layer 15, the self-healing sealing layer 15 and the flexible deformable body 14 cooperating to form a flexible actuator 1; assembling the plurality of flexible actuators 1 into a soft manipulator.

[0070] The manufacturing method of the soft manipulator of the present invention involves first preparing a flexible deformable body 14 having a pneumatic deformation cavity 11 and a repair layer channel 141, then mixing a first liquid flexible matrix material and a curing treatment material with a second liquid flexible matrix material in the form of a first capsule 151 and a second capsule 152 to form a self-healing liquid, and then injecting the self-healing liquid into the repair layer channel 141, so that the second liquid flexible matrix material is cured and cooperates with the first capsule 151 and the second capsule 152 to form a self-healing sealing layer 15. This avoids the mixing of the first liquid flexible matrix material and the curing treatment material during the preparation of the flexible actuator 1, which would cause the first liquid flexible matrix material to cure prematurely and affect the performance of the self-healing seal.

[0071] In embodiments of the present invention, the first liquid flexible matrix material is vinyl PDMS, and the curing treatment material is a mixture of hydrogen-containing siloxane and platinum catalyst; the preparation of the first capsule 151 and the second capsule 152 includes the following steps: mixing vinyl PDMS and polymeric MDI (i.e., polymethylene polyphenyl polyisocyanate) at a mass ratio of 100:20 to form a first oil phase; slowly adding the first oil phase dropwise to a 1.0wt%~2.0wt% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution, and subjecting it to high-speed shearing to form a first oil-in-water emulsion; reacting and maturing the polymeric MDI in the first oil-in-water emulsion with the polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution at room temperature, so that the ethylene in the first oil-in-water emulsion... A polyurea shell is formed and densified on the surface of the PDMS droplets, and the polyurea shell encapsulates the vinyl PDMS droplets to form a first capsule 151; a mixture of hydrogen-containing siloxane and platinum catalyst is mixed with polymeric MDI at a mass ratio of 100:20 to form a second oil phase; the second oil phase is slowly added dropwise to a 1.0wt%~2.0wt% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol and subjected to high-speed shearing to form a second oil-in-water emulsion; the polymeric MDI in the second oil-in-water emulsion reacts with the aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol at room temperature and matures, causing a polyurea shell to form and densify on the surface of the droplets of the mixture in the second oil-in-water emulsion, and the polyurea shell encapsulates the droplets of the mixture to form a second capsule 152.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present invention, the second liquid flexible substrate material is PDMS containing fumed silica; wherein the mass ratio of fumed silica in the second liquid flexible substrate material is 2.0 wt%. The preparation of the self-healing sealing layer 15 includes the following steps: mixing a plurality of first capsules 151 and a plurality of second capsules 152 with PDMS containing fumed silica to form a self-healing liquid; wherein the volume ratio of the plurality of first capsules 151 and the plurality of second capsules 152 is 1:1, and the total volume percentage of the plurality of first capsules 151 and the plurality of second capsules 152 in the self-healing liquid is 8 vol% to 12 vol%; injecting the self-healing liquid into the repair layer channel 141; the second liquid flexible substrate material cures at room temperature, thereby forming the self-healing sealing layer 15. The second liquid flexible substrate material in the repair layer channel 141 cures at room temperature for 24 hours.

[0073] In this embodiment of the invention, the flexible deformable body 14 is prepared by the lost-wax method. Specifically, firstly, a wax core mold and a flexible deformable body 14 mold are prepared by 3D printing using PLA (Polylactic Acid) material; then, liquid polyurethane is injected into the molding cavity of the wax core mold and cooled and solidified to form a wax core mold, and liquid polyurethane is injected into the molding cavity of the flexible deformable body 14 mold and cooled and solidified to form a flexible deformable body 14 mold; then, liquid wax is injected into the molding cavity of the wax core mold and cooled and fixed to form a wax core, and then the wax core is assembled into the molding cavity of the flexible deformable body 14 mold to form the flexible deformable body 14 molding cavity; then, liquid polyurethane is injected into the flexible deformable body 14 molding cavity and dried and solidified to form the flexible deformable body 14, and then the wax core is melted and flowed out by heating to form a pneumatic deformable cavity 11 and a repair layer channel 141; in this way, the flexible deformable body 14 of each flexible actuator 1 can be prepared.

[0074] In this process, polyurethane components A and B are uniformly stirred in the same direction in a container to obtain liquid polyurethane. The polyurethane solution is then degassed using a rotary vane vacuum pump until no new bubbles form (approximately 15 minutes), thus preventing bubbles from affecting the performance of the flexible actuator 1. The molds for the flexible deformable body 14 and the wax core are first placed in a 55°C constant-temperature drying oven for 40 minutes to degassed the internal polyurethane, and then cooled and solidified at room temperature to form the molds for the flexible deformable body 14 and the wax core. Similarly, the mold for the flexible deformable body 14 is first placed in a 55°C constant-temperature drying oven for 40 minutes to degassed the internal polyurethane, and then cooled at room temperature for 6 hours to form the flexible deformable body 14. The demolded flexible deformable body 14 is then placed in a 120°C constant-temperature drying oven and heated for 20 minutes to melt and flow out the internal wax core, forming the pneumatic deformation cavity 11. Furthermore, the palm and finger flexible connection structure 3 can also be obtained using the above-described lost-wax method.

[0075] In this embodiment of the invention, various rigid connection structures are prepared by 3D printing, and then multiple flexible actuators 1 are assembled into a soft robotic hand using multiple rigid connection structures. Specifically, various rigid connection structures are prepared by 3D printing using PLA (Polylactic Acid) material, including a palm-finger rigid connection structure 21, a palm rigid connection structure 22, and a thumb-thenar rigid connection structure 23.

[0076] The above descriptions are merely a few embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or variations to the embodiments of the present invention based on the content disclosed in the application documents without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A soft robotic hand, characterized in that, It includes multiple flexible actuators, each of which has at least one pneumatic deformation cavity; The flexible actuator has multiple independent first channels and multiple second channels between its inner and outer wall surfaces. The first channels are filled with a first liquid flexible matrix material, and the second channels are filled with a curing material. When the flexible actuator develops a crack, the first channels and the second channels can be connected through the crack, allowing the first liquid flexible matrix material and the curing material to flow into the crack and mix. The first liquid flexible matrix material can then solidify to form a solid flexible seal and fill the crack. The flexible actuator includes a flexible deformable body and at least one self-healing sealing layer. The pneumatic deformation cavity is located within the flexible deformable body, and the flexible deformable body has at least one repair layer channel between its inner and outer wall surfaces. The self-healing sealing layer is disposed within the repair layer channel. The first liquid flexible matrix material is encapsulated by a capsule shell to form a first capsule, and the cured material is encapsulated by the capsule shell to form a second capsule. Multiple first capsules and multiple second capsules are distributed within at least one of the self-healing sealing layers. The first liquid flexible matrix material includes a liquid prepolymer, and the cured material includes a crosslinking agent and a catalyst. The liquid prepolymer is vinyl PDMS, the crosslinking agent is a hydrogen-containing siloxane, and the catalyst is a platinum catalyst. Each of the flexible actuators has an outer wall surface including a palm side facing the palm of the soft manipulator and a back side facing away from the palm of the soft manipulator. The pneumatic deformation cavity of each flexible actuator includes multiple air cavity units disposed near the back side and an internal connecting air passage disposed near the palm side and connecting the multiple air cavity units in series. The self-healing sealing layer of each flexible actuator is distributed between its inner wall surface and the back side. The multiple flexible actuators include a flexible palm actuator, multiple flexible finger actuators, a flexible thumb actuator, and a flexible thenar eminence actuator. The front end of the flexible palm actuator is connected to the multiple flexible finger actuators via a palm-finger rigid connection structure. The rear end of the flexible palm actuator is connected to the rear end of the flexible thenar eminence actuator via the palm rigid connection structure. The front end of the flexible thenar eminence actuator is connected to the flexible thumb actuator via a thumb thenar eminence rigid connection structure. The soft robotic hand also includes a palm-finger flexible connection structure, which is installed at the front end of the palm-finger rigid connection structure. The rear ends of each flexible finger actuator pass through the palm-finger flexible connection structure and are connected to the palm-finger rigid connection structure.

2. The soft robotic arm as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The back side of the flexible finger actuator and the back side of the flexible thumb actuator both include a fingertip slope and two corrugated surfaces arranged in front and behind. The flexible finger actuator and the flexible thumb actuator both include two pneumatic deformation cavities arranged in front and behind. The pneumatic deformation cavity has multiple peak air cavity units that correspond to and are connected in series with the corrugated surfaces. The pneumatic deformation cavity located in front also has a fingertip air cavity unit that corresponds to the fingertip slope. The dorsal side of the flexible palm actuator and the dorsal side of the flexible thenar eminence actuator both include multiple corrugated surfaces arranged side by side. The pneumatic deformation cavities of the flexible palm actuator and the flexible thenar eminence actuator each have multiple corrugated air cavities arranged in parallel and corresponding to the multiple corrugated surfaces, and each corrugated air cavity has multiple peak air cavity units arranged in series.

3. The soft robotic arm as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Both the flexible palm actuator and the flexible thenar eminence actuator are equipped with built-in air supply channels. Both the palm-finger rigid connection structure and the thumb-thenar eminence rigid connection structure are equipped with first connecting air channels corresponding to and communicating with the built-in air supply channels. The pneumatic deformation cavity of the flexible finger actuator is connected to the corresponding built-in air supply channel in the flexible palm actuator through the corresponding first connecting air channel. The pneumatic deformation cavity of the flexible thumb actuator is connected to the built-in air supply channel of the flexible thenar eminence actuator through the first connecting air channel of the thumb-thenar eminence rigid connection structure. The palm rigid connection structure is equipped with multiple second connecting air channels and multiple third connecting air channels. The pneumatic deformation cavities of the flexible palm actuator and the flexible thenar eminence actuator are connected to corresponding control air channels through corresponding second connecting air channels. The built-in air supply channels of the flexible palm actuator and the flexible thenar eminence actuator are connected to corresponding control air channels through corresponding third connecting air channels.

4. The soft robotic arm as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the flexible actuators has at least one flexible pressure sensing structure on its palm side. The flexible pressure sensing structure has two temperature detection layers stacked together and a pressure detection layer located between the two temperature detection layers. One of the temperature detection layers is installed on the palm side of the flexible actuator. The resistance of the pressure detection layer can change with the pressure, and the resistance of the temperature detection layer can change with the temperature. The flexible finger actuator has a flexible pressure sensing structure on the fingertip and knuckle of the palm side; the flexible palm actuator has a flexible pressure sensing structure on the upper part of the palm side; the flexible thenar eminence actuator has a flexible pressure sensing structure on the upper part of the palm side; and the flexible thumb actuator has a flexible pressure sensing structure on the fingertip and other parts of the palm side.

5. The soft robotic arm as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The outer wall of the flexible actuator has a sealing coating, and the material of the sealing coating is a nano-silica flexible composite material.

6. A method for manufacturing a soft robotic arm, characterized in that, The manufacturing method for a soft robotic hand as described in any one of claims 1-5 comprises the following steps: Prepare flexible deformable bodies for each of the flexible actuators; wherein the flexible deformable body has at least one pneumatic deformation cavity, and at least one repair layer channel is formed between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface of the flexible deformable body; Prepare a plurality of first capsules filled with the first liquid flexible matrix material and a plurality of second capsules filled with the solidification treatment material; A self-healing liquid is prepared by mixing multiple first capsules and multiple second capsules with a second liquid flexible matrix material. The self-healing liquid is injected into the repair layer channel, and then the second liquid flexible matrix material is cured to form a self-healing sealing layer. The self-healing sealing layer cooperates with the flexible deformable body to form the flexible actuator. The multiple flexible actuators are assembled into the soft robotic arm.

7. The method for manufacturing a soft robotic arm as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The first liquid flexible matrix material is vinyl PDMS, and the curing treatment material is a mixture of hydrogen-containing siloxane and platinum catalyst; the preparation of the first capsule and the second capsule includes the following steps: The vinyl PDMS and polymeric MDI are mixed at a mass ratio of 100:20 to form a first oil phase; The first oil phase was slowly added dropwise to a 1.0wt%~2.0wt% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution and subjected to high-speed shearing to form a first oil-in-water emulsion. The polymeric MDI in the first oil-in-water emulsion reacts with the polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution at room temperature and is cured, so that a polyurea shell is formed and densified on the surface of the vinyl PDMS droplets in the first oil-in-water emulsion, and the polyurea shell encapsulates the vinyl PDMS droplets to form the first capsule; The mixture of the hydrogen-containing siloxane and the platinum catalyst is mixed with polymeric MDI at a mass ratio of 100:20 to form a second oil phase; The second oil phase is slowly added dropwise to a 1.0wt%~2.0wt% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution and subjected to high-speed shearing to form a second oil-in-water emulsion; The polymeric MDI in the second oil-in-water emulsion reacts with the polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution at room temperature and matures, causing a polyurea shell to form and densify on the surface of the droplets of the mixture in the second oil-in-water emulsion. The polyurea shell encapsulates the droplets of the mixture to form the second capsule.

8. The method for manufacturing a soft robotic arm as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The second liquid flexible substrate material is PDMS containing fumed silica; the preparation of the self-healing sealing layer includes the following steps: The self-healing solution is formed by mixing a plurality of the first capsules and a plurality of the second capsules with PDMS containing fumed silica; wherein the volume ratio of the plurality of the first capsules and the plurality of the second capsules is 1:1, and the total volume percentage of the plurality of the first capsules and the plurality of the second capsules in the self-healing solution is 8 vol% to 12 vol%. Inject the self-healing fluid into the repair layer channel; The second liquid flexible substrate material cures at room temperature to form the self-healing sealing layer.

Images