Sealing the Deal: Effects of Fabrication Parameters on the Performance of Textile Pneumatic Haptic Actuators

Textile pneumatic actuators can provide useful wearable haptic feedback when embedded in gloves, armbands, and other smart garments. Here we investigate actuators fabricated from thermoplastic coated textiles. We measure the effects of fabrication parameters on the robustness and airtightness of small, round pneumatic pouch actuators made from heat-sealed thermoplastic polyurethane-coated nylon. We determine the optimal temperature, time, and pressure for heat-pressing of the textile to create strong bonds and identify the most effective glue to create an airtight seal at the inlet. Compared to elastomeric pneumatic actuators, these textile pneumatic actuators reduce the thickness of the actuator by 96.4% and the mass by 57.2%, increasing their wearability while maintaining a strong force output. We evaluated the force output of the actuators, along with their performance over time. In a blocked force test, the maximum force transmission of the pneumatic textile actuators was 36.1N, which is 95.3% of the peak force output of an elastomeric pneumatic actuator with the same diameter and pressure. Cyclical testing showed that the textile actuators had more stable behavior over time. These results provide best practices for fabrication and indicate the feasibility of textile pneumatic actuators for future wearable applications.