Multimodal steerable earthworm-inspired soft robot based on vacuum and positive pressure powered pneumatic actuators

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Soft Robotics
• Biomimetics

Background:

• Existing robots often lack the dexterity for complex environments like pipelines.
• Need for robots capable of multimodal locomotion and precise steering.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multimodal steerable soft robot inspired by earthworm locomotion.
• To enable crawling in pipelines and on planar surfaces with enhanced speed and maneuverability.

Main Methods:

• Utilized modular vacuum pressure-driven actuators for deformation and anchoring.
• Incorporated positive pressure powered actuators (PPPA) for multi-directional steering.
• Integrated front-end pressure sensing for autonomous obstacle detection and avoidance.

Main Results:

• Achieved locomotion speeds of 7.16 mm/s on planar surfaces and 1.94 mm/s in pipelines.
• Demonstrated enhanced cross-plane steering and obstacle avoidance capabilities.
• Improved overall motion efficiency by 16.7% through optimized control laws.

Conclusions:

• The earthworm-inspired soft robot exhibits superior performance for multimodal locomotion.
• The combination of vacuum and positive pressure actuators provides advanced steering and adaptability.
• The robot shows significant potential for inspection and navigation in confined and complex environments.