A novel wrist-inspired soft actuator, which is driven by a magneto-pneumatic hybrid system and based on a Kresling origami unit, is proposed. The geometric model, kinematic analysis model, and quasistatic analysis model of the Kresling origami unit are presented. A key focus is on the formulation and investigation of the variation in rotation angle using the kinematic analysis model. A wrist-inspired soft actuator is designed, and its quasistatic characteristics are validated through various experiments. The paper proposes an innovative magneto-pneumatic hybrid actuation method, capable of achieving bidirectional torsion. This actuation method is experimentally validated, demonstrating the actuator's ability to maintain 3 steady states and its capability for bidirectional torsion deformation. Furthermore, the paper highlights the potential of the Kresling origami unit in designing soft actuators capable of achieving large rotation angles. For instance, an actuator with 6 sides (n = 6) is shown to achieve a rotation angle of 239.5°, and its rotation ratio exceeds 277°, about twice the largest one reported in other literature. The actuator offers a practical and effective solution for bidirectional torsion deformation in soft robotic applications.

A novel soft robotic arm (SRA) composed of two soft extensible arms (SEAs) and a soft bendable joint (SBJ) for space capture systems is presented in this paper. A diamond origami pattern was applied in the design of the SEAs, and large deformations of the SEAs in positive pressure were simulated using the nonlinear finite element method. A kinematic model of the SRA using the Denavit–Hartenberg method based on the assumption of constant curvatures was proposed. A closed-loop model-free control system based on a PID controller was developed using real-time data from a vision sensor system. The kinematic model and closed-loop model-free control system are experimentally evaluated on an SRA prototype by four experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that the derived kinematic model can finely describe the movement of the SRA and that the closed-loop control system can control the SRA to reach the desired destination or trajectory within an acceptable error and performs well in long-term repeated operations.