A Plug-and-Play Pneumatic Supply System

Soft robots utilize pneumatic actuation due to its high power density, ability to undergo large deformations, large force outputs, and compliance, which enables safe and flexible interactions between the robots and their environments. High frequency actuation holds the potential to enhance the interaction and motion capabilities of these robots by enabling vibration-induced characteristics. However, existing pneumatic supply systems (PSSs) often fail to deliver actuation in the high frequency range with sufficient displacement and force. In this letter, we present a plug-and-play PSS that supports continuous, low frequency, and high frequency pressure profiles up to 300 Hz. We validate the PSS with a wide range of control volumes and various soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs), demonstrating its ability to adapt to different scales as well as motion and deformation strategies. This advancement paves the way for enabling new functionalities for soft robots, including vibration-based motion primitives and enhanced user experiences in wearable technologies.