With the rise in new soft robotic applications, the control requirements increase. Therefore, precise control methods for soft robots are required. However, the dynamic control of soft robots, which is required for fast movements, is still an open topic and will be discussed here. In this contribution, one kinematic and two dynamic control methods for soft robots are examined. Thereby, an LQI controller with gain scheduling, which is new to soft robotic applications, and an MPC controller are presented. The controllers are compared in a simulation regarding their accuracy and robustness. Additionally, the required implementation effort and computational effort is examined. For this purpose, the trajectory tracking control of a simple soft robot is studied for different trajectories. The soft robot is beam-shaped and tendon-actuated. It is modeled using the piecewise constant curvature model, which is one of the most popular modeling techniques in soft robotics. In this paper, it is shown that all three controllers are able to follow the examined trajectories. However, the dynamic controllers show much higher accuracy and robustness than the kinematic controller. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the implementation and computational effort for the dynamic controllers is significantly higher. Therefore, kinematic controllers should be used if movements are slow and small oscillations can be accepted, while dynamic controllers should be used for faster movements with higher accuracy or robustness requirements.

Nowadays electric cars are in the spotlight of automotive research. In this context we consider data based approaches as tools to improve and facilitate the car design process. Hereby, we address the challenge of vibration load prediction for electric cars using neural network based machine learning (ML), a data-based frequency response function approach, and a hybrid combined model. We extensively study the challenging case of vibration load prediction of car components, such as the traction battery of an electric car. We show using experimental data from Fiat 500e and VWeGolf cars that the proposed ML approach is able to outperform the classical model estimation by means of ARX and ARMAX models. Moreover, we evaluate the performance of a hybrid-ML concept for combination of ML and ARMAX. Our promising results motivate further research in the field of vibration load prediction using machine learning based approaches in order to facilitate design processes.

Soft material robots are an emerging and fast‐growing field of research [1] with potential application in various technical fields. These applications include, but are not limited to medical applications and all sorts of human‐machine‐interaction. Due to the soft structure, conventional components and design methodologies are not applicable. For reliable control and positioning of soft robots in 3D space especially accurate knowledge about their current position and orientation is essential.In this contribution, a resistive curvature sensor for a soft robot is presented. It is based on electrically conductive foam attached to the soft robot. Deformations of the foam lead to a change in electrical resistance [2] which can be measured and used to determine the curvature of a soft robot. Since the sensor behavior is nonlinear and hysteretic, a neural network is used to determine the curvature of the soft robot from the measured foam resistances.