Design of a Respiration Imitator for a Breathable Soft Robot

Insomnia affected human productivity and cause long term health problems. Sleeplessness mostly cause by stress especially in adults. The synchronized breathing between two human or between human and animal could reduce stress. But having a real animal was impractical in many situations, thus, the soft animal robot could be developed to be a human companion. In this research, the soft-stuffed breathable doll was introduced. Robot respiration imitator was designed to mimic the real breathing mechanism by using artificial ribs and spine created from 3D materials. The materials were selected using the flexibility and rigidity properties from simulations, by considering the several 3D printable materials. Robot ribs were created from TPFE material while the imitator core was constructed from ABS material. The Maxon DC motor was used as the imitator actuator in order to crate sophisticate breathing motion. The magnetic encoder was attached to the motor for a precise control. The repository imitator was experimented before and after installed into the soft bear doll skin. The cushion was wrapped around the imitator for safety and good feeling when the robot was hugged. The experiments showed that the designed repository system worked properly for desired motions.