A dynamic electrically driven soft valve for control of soft hydraulic actuators

Significance Soft actuators have advantages over traditional rigid robots in various applications due to their robustness, low mechanical stiffness, and low weight. Thus far, conventional rigid valves are the most common approach to control hydraulic soft actuators. Although soft valves have been designed in various forms, they have not achieved the pressure or flow rate conditions as required by many existing hydraulic actuators. In this paper, we introduce an electrically driven soft valve using dynamic dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). These soft valves have a fast response time and are able to control fluidic pressure and flow rates that match the needs of hydraulic actuators with mesoscale channels. The DEA valves enable possibilities for soft onboard controls for future fluidic soft robots.