Design, Modelling and Characterisation of a Miniature Fibre-Reinforced Soft Bending Actuator for Endoluminal Interventions

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.24461v1
• Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:11:25 GMT
• Title: Design, Modelling and Characterisation of a Miniature Fibre-Reinforced Soft Bending Actuator for Endoluminal Interventions
• Abstract summary: Miniaturised soft pneumatic actuators are crucial for robotic intervention within highly constrained anatomical pathways.<n>This work presents the design and validation of a fibre-reinforced soft actuator at the centimetre scale for inte- gration into an endoluminal robotic platform.
• Score: 8.890440178145253
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Miniaturised soft pneumatic actuators are crucial for robotic intervention within highly constrained anatomical pathways. This work presents the design and validation of a fibre-reinforced soft actuator at the centimetre scale for inte- gration into an endoluminal robotic platform for natural-orifice interventional and diagnostic applications. A single-chamber geometry reinforced with embedded Kevlar fibre was de- signed to maximise curvature while preserving sealing integrity, fabricated using a multi-stage multi-stiffness silicone casting process, and validated against a high-fidelity Abaqus FEM using experimentally parametrised hyperelastic material models and embedded beam reinforcement. The semi-cylindrical actuator has an outer diameter of 18,mm and a length of 37.5,mm. Single and double helix winding configurations, fibre pitch, and fibre density were investigated. The optimal 100 SH configuration achieved a bending angle of 202.9° experimentally and 297.6° in simulation, with structural robustness maintained up to 100,kPa and radial expansion effectively constrained by the fibre reinforcement. Workspace evaluation confirmed suitability for integration into the target device envelope, demonstrating that fibre-reinforcement strategies can be effectively translated to the centimetre regime while retaining actuator performance.

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