Insect-scale fast moving and ultrarobust soft robot

Abstract

Mobility and robustness are two important features for practical applications of robots. Soft robots made of polymeric materials have the potential to achieve both attributes simultaneously. Inspired by nature, this research presents soft robots based on a curved unimorph piezoelectric structure whose relative speed of 20 body lengths per second is the fastest measured among published artificial insect-scale robots. The soft robot uses several principles of animal locomotion, can carry loads, climb slopes, and has the sturdiness of cockroaches. After withstanding the weight of an adult footstep, which is about 1 million times heavier than that of the robot, the system survived and continued to move afterward. The relatively fast locomotion and robustness are attributed to the curved unimorph piezoelectric structure with large amplitude vibration, which advances beyond other methods. The design principle, driving mechanism, and operating characteristics can be further optimized and extended for improved performances, as well as used for other flexible devices.

Materials as Machines

“…f) Cockroach locomotion mimicked with a Pd/Au electrode sandwiched with a piezoelectric. Adapted with permission 146. Copyright 2019, The Authors, published by AAAS.…”

“…Applied voltages of only 8 V are required. Reproduced with permission 146. Copyright 2019, The Authors, published by AAAS.…”

“…In 2018, Yen and Guo reported a PVDF sensor that is applied to an oscillating robotic fish to monitor pressure fluctuations as it locomotes 145. Soft robotics with complex motion profiles utilizing PVDF/Silicone multilayers have also recently been demonstrated by Wu et al146 In these robots, Pd/Au electrodes sandwich the piezoelectric PVDF film that is then mounted to a silicone/PET bilayer in order to mimic cockroach locomotion (Figure 7f). The actuators use large vibration amplitude and a bouncing gait mechanism to achieve wavelike locomotion near their resonant frequency, but only consist of soft and compliant materials to do so (Figure 7g).…”

Tunable, Flexible, and Resilient Robots Driven by an Electrostatic Actuator

“…Electromagnetic field is an excellent external source to power untethered robots and produce fast locomotion; nonetheless, it requires a preprogrammed electromagnetic stage on which the robot moves. Although the insect‐scale robot with piezoelectric actuation is major advancement with the robots being small, lightweight, fast, and robust, it remains challenging to make improvements so as to maneuver over rough surfaces, overcome hurdles, or move backward. Electrostatic actuation is an ideal candidate for lightweight and small mechanisms.…”

Heterogeneous Conductance‐Based Locally Shape‐Morphable Soft Electrothermal Actuator

“…[1][2][3] Soft actuators can be driven by mechanical, [4,5] optical, [6][7][8][9] chemical, [10] magnetic, [11][12][13] and electrical [14,15] stimuli but need to be actuated with an easily accessible power source for practical applications. [1][2][3] Soft actuators can be driven by mechanical, [4,5] optical, [6][7][8][9] chemical, [10] magnetic, [11][12][13] and electrical [14,15] stimuli but need to be actuated with an easily accessible power source for practical applications.…”