A Fully Three-Dimensional Printed Inchworm-Inspired Soft Robot with Magnetic Actuation

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Abstract

<p class="first" id="d5602020e59">In the field of robotics, researchers are aiming to develop soft or partially soft bodied robots that utilize the motion and control system of various living organisms in nature. These robots have the potential to be robust and versatile, even safer for human interaction compared to traditional rigid robots. Soft robots based on biomimetic principles are being designed for real life applications by paying attention to different shape, geometry, and actuation systems in these organisms that respond to surrounding environments and stimuli. Especially, caterpillars or inchworms have garnered attention due to their soft compliant structure and crawling locomotion system making them ideal for maneuvering in congested spaces as a transport function. Currently, there are two major challenges with design and fabrication of such soft robots: using an efficient actuation system and developing a simple manufacturing process. Different actuation systems have been explored, which include shape memory alloy based coils and hydraulic and pneumatic actuators. However, the intrinsic limitations due to overall size and control system of these actuators prevent their integration in flexibility, lightweight, and compact manner, limiting practical and untethered applications. In comparison, magnetic actuation demonstrates simple wireless noncontact control. In terms of manufacturing process, additive manufacturing has emerged as an effective tool for obtaining structural complexity with high resolution, accuracy, and desired geometry. This study proposes a fully three-dimensional (3D) printed, monolithic, and tetherless inchworm-inspired soft robot that uses magnetic actuation for linear locomotion and crawling. Its structure is multimaterial heterogeneous particle-polymer composite with locally programmed material compositions. This soft robot is directly printed in one piece from a 3D computer model, without any manual assembly or complex processing steps, and it can be controlled by an external wireless force. This article presents its design and manufacturing with the novel magnetic field assisted projection stereolithography technique. Analytical models and numerical simulations of the crawling locomotion of the soft robot are also presented and compared with the experimental results of the 3D printed prototype. The overall locomotion mechanism of the magnetically actuated soft robot is evaluated with friction tests and stride efficiency analysis. </p>

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Design, fabrication and control of soft robots.

Daniela Rus, Michael T Tolley (2015)

Conventionally, engineers have employed rigid materials to fabricate precise, predictable robotic systems, which are easily modelled as rigid members connected at discrete joints. Natural systems, however, often match or exceed the performance of robotic systems with deformable bodies. Cephalopods, for example, achieve amazing feats of manipulation and locomotion without a skeleton; even vertebrates such as humans achieve dynamic gaits by storing elastic energy in their compliant bones and soft tissues. Inspired by nature, engineers have begun to explore the design and control of soft-bodied robots composed of compliant materials. This Review discusses recent developments in the emerging field of soft robotics.

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Multigait soft robot.

Robert F Shepherd, Filip Ilievski, Wonjae Choi … (2011)

This manuscript describes a unique class of locomotive robot: A soft robot, composed exclusively of soft materials (elastomeric polymers), which is inspired by animals (e.g., squid, starfish, worms) that do not have hard internal skeletons. Soft lithography was used to fabricate a pneumatically actuated robot capable of sophisticated locomotion (e.g., fluid movement of limbs and multiple gaits). This robot is quadrupedal; it uses no sensors, only five actuators, and a simple pneumatic valving system that operates at low pressures (< 10 psi). A combination of crawling and undulation gaits allowed this robot to navigate a difficult obstacle. This demonstration illustrates an advantage of soft robotics: They are systems in which simple types of actuation produce complex motion.

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Making waves in a photoactive polymer film

Anne Helene Gelebart, Dirk Jan Mulder, Mike Varga … (2017)

Oscillating materials1–4 that adapt their shape in response to an external stimulus are of interest for emerging applications in medicine and robotics. Liquid crystal networks have a prominent role in this area because they can be programmed to undergo stimulus-induced deformations in a variety of geometries, including in response to light5,6. In order to make these polymer networks photoresponsive, azobenzene molecules are often incorporated7–11. Most examples in the literature report on bending responses of these azobenzene modified films, where relaxation after photo-isomerization is rather slow. Modification of the core or addition of substituents to the azobenzene moiety can lead to drastic changes in photophysical and photochemical properties12–15 giving opportunity to circumvent the use of a complex set-up. Here we report on the incorporation of azo-derivatives with fast thermal relaxation into liquid crystal network films (LCN), to generate films that can exhibit continuous, directional macroscopic mechanical waves under constant light illumination, with a feedback loop driven by self-shadowing. A theoretical model and numerical simulation demonstrate this mechanism and show good qualitative agreement with experiments. We explore potential applications in light-driven locomotion and self-cleaning surfaces.