Protective Skin Mechanism with an Exhaustive Arrangement of Tiny Rigid Bodies for Soft Robots - Evaluation of Puncture Resistance, Elasticity, and Descaling Resistance of the Scale Mechanism -

Soft actuators have several advantages, including large deformation, safety and adaptability to the environment, and shock absorbance. However, they are weak against sharp objects owing to their soft bodies. This paper proposes a novel protective skin mechanism with an exhaustive arrangement of tiny rigid bodies. Small pieces were sewed on an elastic sheet using Kevlar strings. We conducted some measurements of puncture resistance, elasticity, and descaling resistance of the scale mechanisms. The results indicate that the elasticity of the proposed scale mechanism was just 150% larger than a simple silicone sheet. In addition, approximately 15 N was required for descaling, which is seven times larger than that of the glued scales. There was no puncture even when pricked with a needle.