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Modular Design of a Polymer-Bilayer-Based Mechanically Compliant Worm-Like Robot.

Livius F Muff1, Austin S Mills2, Shane Riddle2

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Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|February 22, 2023
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Summary

This study presents a fully soft, modular worm-like robot. Its electrothermal actuators enable compliant locomotion through confined spaces, overcoming limitations of rigid robots.

Keywords:
bilayer bending actuatorsearthworm-like robotsearthwormsphase transitionsphase-changing materialssoft roboticsthermal expansion coefficients

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Area of Science:

  • Robotics
  • Materials Science
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Traditional robots struggle with uneven terrain and confined spaces.
  • Existing soft robots often incorporate rigid components, limiting their compliance.
  • Biological earthworms offer a model for compliant locomotion in complex environments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a mechanically compliant, modular, worm-like robot using soft polymers.
  • To enable robots to navigate challenging environments inaccessible to conventional designs.
  • To demonstrate peristaltic locomotion using electrothermal actuation.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of a modular robot body from electrothermally activated polymer bilayer actuators.
  • Utilizing a semicrystalline polyurethane with a large nonlinear thermal expansion coefficient.
  • Design of robot segments based on a modified Timoshenko model and validated with finite element analysis.
  • Implementing basic waveform patterns for electrical activation to achieve locomotion.

Main Results:

  • The soft robot successfully demonstrated repeatable peristaltic locomotion.
  • The robot navigated exceptionally slippery and sticky surfaces.
  • The robot could be oriented in any direction and wriggle through openings smaller than its cross-section.

Conclusions:

  • A fully soft, modular worm-like robot was successfully developed.
  • The robot's compliant nature and electrothermal actuation enable versatile locomotion in confined and challenging terrains.
  • This design overcomes limitations of rigid components in soft robotics.