Reduced Order Model for Soft Robotic Surface Based on Beam Elements

For a type of soft robotic surface capable of freeform deformation, a reduced order model based on beam elements and nonlinear finite element theory is proposed. Firstly, specialized beam elements are used to discretize the soft robotic surface. Secondly, Newton-Raphson iteration method is employed to solve the nonlinear deformation process. This paper also derives the inverse mapping from global geometric features to the local contraction of each artificial muscle. Numerical calculation and simulation results show the reduced order model provides an efficient computational framework for the modeling, simulation, and control of the soft robotic surface.