Braided angle soft actuator for flexible bronchoscopy tip: design, simulation, and manufacture

Abstract

This paper presents a new design of braided angle soft actuator for flexible bronchoscopy tip, which combines twisting and bending motions of soft actuator. This study is focused on the design, simulation and manufacture stages. The soft actuator was designed to fit with the anatomy of human bronchial tree for inspection purpose. The simulation of the design was done to verify the best structure for producing the functional requirement. The fabrication of the soft actuator utilized a molding system. From the gradient value of linear regression analysis, it demonstrated that the proposed soft-tip is capable of moving close to the functional requirement after standard pressure driving experiment was executed.