Technical requirements and conceptualization of a soft pneumatic actuator inspired by human gastric motility

Abstract

This paper presents the technical requirements and conceptualization of the actuator inspired by human gastric motility. Key features of the stomach motion are explored and described in the viewpoint of engineering. A soft robotic model of the stomach is conceptualized for the purpose of in vitro simulation of the contractile motion of the stomach. Soft lithography and lost wax methods are implemented in the fabrication. Our experiments show that the proposed robot is able to reproduce the required contractile movement.