Highly Integrated Multi-Material Fibers for Soft Robotics

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Robotics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Soft robots offer enhanced safety for minimally invasive procedures.
• Current limitations in soft material processing restrict soft robot capabilities, including size, aspect ratio, and design complexity.
• A need exists for advanced manufacturing techniques to overcome these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce multi-material thermal drawing as a platform for fabricating advanced soft robotic fibers.
• Demonstrate the creation of fibers with multiple actuation and sensing capabilities.
• Showcase the potential for complex, high-aspect-ratio soft robotic components.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multi-material thermal drawing with various thermoplastic and elastomeric materials.
• Designed intricate fiber architectures with outer diameters of 700 µm and aspect ratios up to 10^3.
• Fabricated continuous fiber lengths of tens of meters.
• Integrated modular tendon-driven mechanisms, optical guides, electrical wires, and microfluidic channels.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated soft robotic fibers with adaptable actuation performance based on material selection.
• Demonstrated complex internal architectures and high aspect ratios.
• Achieved multifunctionality through integrated components, enabling 3D motion, sensing, and fluid/tool delivery.
• Showcased the scalability of the fabrication process.

Conclusions:

• Multi-material thermal drawing is a viable and scalable platform for producing advanced soft robotic fibers.
• These fibers possess multiple actuation and sensing modalities, paving the way for next-generation biomedical devices.
• The demonstrated capabilities significantly enhance the potential of soft robots in minimally invasive applications.