Motorized, untethered soft robots via 3D printed auxetics.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Untethered soft robots face challenges with power, control, and limited operational duration due to actuator limitations.
• Existing soft actuators often lack the force output and efficiency for self-contained, long-duration operation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop scalable, motorized soft robotic actuators for untethered soft robots.
• To demonstrate untethered locomotion in soft quadrupeds using novel actuators.

Main Methods:

• 3D printing of cylindrical handed shearing auxetics (HSAs) from polyurethane resins.
• Mechanical characterization of HSAs and assembly into multi-degree-of-freedom legs.
• Testing of untethered soft robotic quadrupeds with varying leg designs.

Main Results:

• HSAs exhibit auxetic behavior suitable for robotic actuation.
• Untethered quadrupeds achieved locomotion at 2 body lengths per minute for 65 minutes with a 1.5 kg payload.
• The developed soft robots show competitive operating times and velocities compared to existing systems.

Conclusions:

• 3D-printed HSAs offer a viable solution for robust, long-operating-time untethered soft robots.
• This advancement facilitates future research in embodied intelligence and adaptive learning in soft robotics.
• The developed actuators provide necessary robustness, operating times, and payload capacities for advanced applications.