By using rapid prototyping 3D printers, I was able to iterate and improve designs very quickly. Here you will see casts for strain gauges and a fixture for pre-tensioning the embedded kevlar threads.
The low-profile pneumatic actuator pictured here is similar to a McKibben pneumatic artificial muscle, but with a zero-volume bladder when depressurized and a flat form factor. Hyperelastic strain gauge sensors have been integrated on interior and exterior surfaces of the actuator to fully define the force-displacement state of the actuator, and multi-chambered designs allow for a greater displacement at the same pressure. For this NSF-funded project, I designed the actuators, developed the processes for molding actuators, and designed test equipment for fully characterizing the capabilities of the actuators. More information can be found in our patent documentation.
The flexibility of my fabrication process allowed me to experiment with incorporating several actuators into a single degree of freedom.
Among my contributions to this project was fully characterizing the force-displacement capacities of the actuators in every configuration.