A Desktop-sized Platform for Real-time Control Applications of Pneumatic Soft Robots

In recent years, there have been many modeling and control advances in the field of soft robotics, which resulted in a growing interest in practical, real-time applications. To further enable these developments, we present a desktop-sized testing and development platform intended for fast, precise, and reliable (closed-loop) control of pneumatic soft robots. The Soft Robotics Control-unit (SRC) is fully compatible with Matlab, Simulink, and Unity, allowing for real-time control tasks of various complexity. The system's performance is tested in three use-cases: model-based controller design, soft haptic feedback in virtual-reality, and tele-operation of a soft gripper. To promote the use of the SRC in the soft robotics community, all presented material is fully open-sourced such that it is easily reproducible by students or researchers from any technical background.