Soft robots are characterized by ultraflexible electromechanical structures that are capable of large deformations and movements. However, the challenge of generating the high output forces necessary for manipulation persists because of the low Young’s moduli of soft materials, which limit their effectiveness in tasks such as carrying, grasping, and providing support. Inspired by shrimp exoskeletons, we designed an origami exoskeleton that features flexible-rigid arrangements and mechanical multistability. This design offers high stiffness in stable states while allowing for long-stroke transitions, making it suitable for integration with soft actuators to balance deformability and load-bearing capacity. With advantages such as high compressibility and rapid integration, these exoskeleton-enhanced arms have promising applications when mounted on unmanned ground and aerial vehicles, facilitating large-scale dexterous manipulation with the necessary load capacities. For existing soft arms, the proposed origami exoskeleton enhances the potential for manipulation within their original design framework.

This paper investigates the fluidic leak rate through sealing contact surfaces by comparison between model calculation and experiment measurement. The focus is on an experimental device designed to measure the leak rate of the static seals with a simpler structure, smaller errors, stronger stability, and more functions. Using the device, experiments were carried out to four test pieces with different surface characteristics, whose leak rates were measured separately. Compared with the calculation results obtained from the fractal surface leak rate prediction model, the correctness and the application range of the model were verified, and the effects of different surface topographies and material properties of the four test pieces on the leak rate were analyzed as well. The experimental device was also used to perform single-factor comparison experiments, which were then combined with the theoretical prediction model to analyze the effects of the sealing surface contact load, fluid pressure, and surface apparent size on the leak rate, so that theoretical support and experimental evidence for selecting the parameters of sealing device was provided.