Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering | Article | Published 2022
We develop multi-mode soft composite bending actuators based on glass fber textiles interwoven with shape memory alloy (SMA) wires and a soft matrix of polydimethylsiloxane. We describe their detailed design and fabrication. We varied the interweaving patterns of SMA wires, such that the actuators exhibit multi-mode bending behaviors. Actuators with three diferent bending modes were fabricated, and their performances were evaluated in terms of curvature. We varied the stifness of glass fber textiles and the diameters of SMA wires. Bidirectional multi-mode actuations were achieved when SMA wires of diferent interwoven patterns were combined with glass fber textiles. We present prototypes of such actuators and demonstrate their actuations. Finally, we prepared gripper prototypes using these actuators; they grasped diferent objects according to bending mode. Our technique will aid the development of soft robotics, as well as other scientifc and engineering applications.