Synchronization of Soft Pneumatic Actuators for Reliable Grasping

Soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) are often used in soft robotics due to their low cost and lightweight. However, their compliance and flexibility often lead to nonlinear dynamics, which complicates the design and control of soft robots. This paper deals with the synchronization of multiple SPAs in a soft gripper to ensure the grasping success rate. The synchronization is transformed into an optimization problem with constraints, where the optimal time-dependent input pressures of multiple actuators are determined. The optimized input leads to a synchronized movement of the SPAs and increases the reliability of gripping an object. An example of the synchronization of three different stiff SPAs is used to demonstrate the proposed approach.