Active learning design: Modeling force output for axisymmetric soft pneumatic actuators

Soft pneumatic actuators (SPA) made from elastomeric materials can provide large strain and large force. The behavior of locally strain-restricted hyperelastic materials under inflation has been investigated thoroughly for shape reconfiguration, but requires further investigation for trajectories involving external force. In this work, we model force-pressure-height relationships for a concentrically strain-limited class of soft pneumatic actuators and demonstrate the use of this model to design SPA response for object lifting. We predict relationships under different loadings by solving energy minimization equations and verify this theory by using an automated test rig to collect rich data for n = 22 Ecoflex 00-30 membranes. We collect data using an active learning pipeline to efficiently model the design space. We show that this learned model outperforms the theory-based model and a naive regression. We use our model to optimize membrane design for different lift tasks and compare thi..., , # Data from: Active learning design: Modeling force output for axisymmetric soft pneumatic actuators

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.jsxksn0mt](10.5061/dryad.jsxksn0mt)

Publication DOI: [10.1109/LRA.2025.3605089](https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2025.3605089)

Downloading the dataset: Simply click each .zip folder (the folder, not the check box) individually to download the characterization data, test data, and ReadMe.

## Description of the data and file structure

Characterization data contains folders of .csv and .mp4 data. The folders are titled with (in order): the membrane material, the membrane thickness, the membrane total radius [mm], the contact area radius [mm], the test date (year_month_day), the curing location (A/B), and the test number. Many folders contain additional values designating the dimensions of strain limiting rings [mm]: ring1 radius, ring 1 width, ring 2 radius, ring 2 width. For ring measurements, 'nan' indicates the lack of a ring. The .csv files are named with the...,