Crawling, climbing, perching, and flying by FiBa soft robots.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Materials Science
• Biomimetics

Background:

• Untethered soft robots face challenges due to the weight of traditional pneumatic actuators.
• Reducing actuator weight is crucial for enabling untethered soft robotic systems.
• Existing soft robotic systems are often tethered, limiting their operational capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel approach for fabricating lightweight, untethered soft robots.
• To develop a new type of soft actuator module that significantly reduces weight.
• To demonstrate diverse biomimetic locomotion modes using these lightweight modules.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of film-balloon (FiBa) modules combining curved polymer films and 3D-printed balloons.
• Integration of FiBa modules with electronic components for untethered operation.
• Design of soft robots using FiBa modules as building blocks for biomimetic locomotion.

Main Results:

• FiBa modules drastically reduced the weight of soft actuators.
• The developed modules enabled untethered operation by allowing integration of power and control components.
• Four distinct bioinspired locomotion modes were demonstrated: crawling, climbing, perching, and flying.

Conclusions:

• The FiBa module approach offers a viable method for creating lightweight, untethered soft robots.
• This innovation facilitates the design of soft robots with advanced functionalities and diverse movement capabilities.
• The reduced weight opens up new application possibilities in disaster relief, space exploration, and search and rescue.