Abstract:The annelid, which consists of several identical segments, exploits its soft structures to move effectively in complex natural environments. Elongation and shortening of different segments produce a reverse peristaltic wave while retractable setae generate a variable friction, enabling bidirectional crawling locomotion. Although several designs have applied soft technologies towards the construction of annelid-like robots, these robots do not exhibit the homonymous segmentation, reverse peristaltic wave and va… Show more
“…A thin wire was placed at the edge of the carbon grease electrode, and the soft actuator was actuated by a voltage source. After cutting the DE film along the outer edge of the PET film and releasing it, a soft actuator with an original saddle shape was acquired 48 . Fig.…”
Origami has become an optimal methodological choice for creating complex three-dimensional (3D) structures and soft robots. The simple and low-cost origami-inspired folding assembly provides a new method for developing 3D soft robots, which is ideal for future intelligent robotic systems. Here, we present a series of materials, structural designs, and fabrication methods for developing independent, electrically controlled origami 3D soft robots for walking and soft manipulators. The 3D soft robots are based on soft actuators, which are multilayer structures with a dielectric elastomer (DE) film as the deformation layer and a laser-cut PET film as the supporting flexible frame. The triangular and rectangular design of the soft actuators allows them to be easily assembled into crawling soft robots and pyramidal- and square-shaped 3D structures. The crawling robot exhibits very stable crawling behaviors and can carry loads while walking. Inspired by origami folding, the pyramidal and square-shaped 3D soft robots exhibit programmable out-of-plane deformations and easy switching between two-dimensional (2D) and 3D structures. The electrically controllable origami deformation allows the 3D soft robots to be used as soft manipulators for grasping and precisely locking 3D objects. This work proves that origami-inspired fold-based assembly of DE actuators is a good reference for the development of soft actuators and future intelligent multifunctional soft robots.
“…A thin wire was placed at the edge of the carbon grease electrode, and the soft actuator was actuated by a voltage source. After cutting the DE film along the outer edge of the PET film and releasing it, a soft actuator with an original saddle shape was acquired 48 . Fig.…”
Origami has become an optimal methodological choice for creating complex three-dimensional (3D) structures and soft robots. The simple and low-cost origami-inspired folding assembly provides a new method for developing 3D soft robots, which is ideal for future intelligent robotic systems. Here, we present a series of materials, structural designs, and fabrication methods for developing independent, electrically controlled origami 3D soft robots for walking and soft manipulators. The 3D soft robots are based on soft actuators, which are multilayer structures with a dielectric elastomer (DE) film as the deformation layer and a laser-cut PET film as the supporting flexible frame. The triangular and rectangular design of the soft actuators allows them to be easily assembled into crawling soft robots and pyramidal- and square-shaped 3D structures. The crawling robot exhibits very stable crawling behaviors and can carry loads while walking. Inspired by origami folding, the pyramidal and square-shaped 3D soft robots exhibit programmable out-of-plane deformations and easy switching between two-dimensional (2D) and 3D structures. The electrically controllable origami deformation allows the 3D soft robots to be used as soft manipulators for grasping and precisely locking 3D objects. This work proves that origami-inspired fold-based assembly of DE actuators is a good reference for the development of soft actuators and future intelligent multifunctional soft robots.
“…For example, fabrication can involve several shapes and dimensions, the actuators can have light weights, and the actuators do not have complex pipe systems. They have been used to fabricate different soft robots, including grippers, [ 111 ] crawling robots, [ 112 ] microscale rolling robots, [ 113 ] and so on. However, the research about using smart materials to fabricate soft robotic manipulators has been relatively slow to develop.…”
Soft robotic manipulators are continuum robots made of soft materials and flexible components. The goal of soft robotic manipulators research is to enable these manipulators to adapt their shapes to cluttered environments and to have safer interactions with human. However, there is still a problem with effectively using soft robotic manipulators in practical applications. The challenges of soft robotic manipulators in terms of materials and structure design, stiffness control, perception, and function control remain to be overcome. Here, an overview of recent advances in this field is presented, covering device architectures, actuation, variable stiffness, and sensing. Actuator technologies are discussed and roughly divided into three categories: a) tendon‐driven actuation, b) fluidic actuation, and c) stimuli‐responsive actuation, which is based on smart materials. Considering the working principle of stiffness variation technologies, stiffness variation technologies can be divided into two categories: a) using the interactions between structural elements, b) direct material rigidity tuning strategies. A briefly review of soft sensing technologies is presented. From the functional perspective, sensor technologies are divide into two categories: proprioception and exteroception. A conception for designing soft robotic manipulators is proposed from the perspective of soft robotic manipulator applications. Finally, the challenges this field faces are discussed.
“…However, by far, the performance of these robots (such as robot step, speed and load capacity) are still far away from real application and their performance is highly dependent on both actuator materials and configuration design. Lots of studies employed emerging soft actuation materials to drive crawling robots: dielectric elastomers (DEs) [20], ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) [21], and shape memory alloys (SMAs) [22]. The DEs is a popular choice for its high-power density.…”
Twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) actuators are becoming increasingly prevalent in soft robotic fields due to their powerful and hysteresis-free stroke, large specific work density, and ease of fabrication. This paper presents a soft crawling robot with spike-inspired robot feet which can deform and crawl like an inchworm. The robot mainly consists of two leaf springs, connection part, robot feet, and two TCP actuators. A system level model of a soft crawling robot is presented for flexible and effective locomotion. Such a model can offer high-efficiency design and flexible locomotion of the crawling robot. Results show that the soft crawling robot can move at a speed of 0.275 mm/s when TCP is powered at 24 V.
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