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Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Manufacturing, Control, and Performance Evaluation of a Gecko-Inspired Soft Robot

Manufacturing, Control, and Performance Evaluation of a Gecko-Inspired Soft Robot

Published on: June 10, 2020

Burrowing soft robots break new ground.

Junliang Julian Tao¹

¹School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.

Science Robotics

|June 17, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A new bioinspired soft robot quickly and easily burrows through dry sand. This breakthrough in soft robotics offers advanced mobility for navigating granular environments.

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Bioinspired Engineering
Materials Science

Background:

Soft robots offer unique advantages in unstructured environments.
Bioinspiration provides novel design principles for robotic locomotion.
Granular media present significant challenges for robotic traversal.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a bioinspired soft robot capable of burrowing in dry sand.
To investigate the locomotion principles for efficient movement in granular substrates.
To evaluate the robot's speed and maneuverability during burrowing.

Main Methods:

Design and fabrication of a soft robotic system mimicking natural burrowing organisms.
Experimental testing in controlled shallow dry sand environments.
Analysis of locomotion parameters including speed, depth, and turning radius.

Main Results:

The bioinspired soft robot achieved high-speed burrowing in dry sand.
The robot demonstrated excellent maneuverability, including rapid changes in direction.
Locomotion was efficient, enabling rapid penetration of the granular medium.

Conclusions:

Bioinspired soft robots can effectively navigate challenging granular environments.
The developed robot design offers a promising platform for subterranean exploration and operations.
This research advances the field of soft robotics and bio-mimetic locomotion.