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Design and Fabrication of an Elastomeric Unit for Soft Modular Robots in Minimally Invasive Surgery

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Miniature deep-sea morphable robot with multimodal locomotion.

Fei Pan^1,2, Jiaqi Liu¹, Zonghao Zuo¹

¹School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, China.

Science Robotics

|March 19, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a compact, 16-gram deep-sea soft actuator using chiral metamaterials and shape memory alloys. This enables untethered miniature robots for multimodal locomotion and manipulation in extreme ocean depths.

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Materials Science
Oceanography

Background:

Deep-sea exploration requires robust, compact robotic systems.
Miniature robots offer novel approaches to studying deep-sea environments.
Existing technologies face challenges in deep-sea pressure and operation.

Purpose of the Study:

To design and develop a centimeter-scale deep-sea soft actuator.
To create an untethered miniature deep-sea robot with multimodal locomotion.
To demonstrate the performance of novel soft grippers for deep-sea operations.

Main Methods:

Incorporation of bistable chiral metamaterials and tube-sealed shape memory alloys in a soft actuator.
Utilizing hydrostatic pressure to enhance actuator snapping velocity.
Developing a miniature robot capable of swimming, gliding, morphing, and crawling.

Main Results:

The soft actuator demonstrated undistorted cyclic motions at various deep-sea depths.
The miniature robot successfully performed multimodal locomotion in the Haima Cold Seep (1380m) and Mariana Trench (10,600m).
A wearable soft gripper was developed for specimen collection and object manipulation at ~3400m.

Conclusions:

The developed actuator design enhances performance under hydrostatic pressure.
The miniature robot showcases effective deep-sea exploration and interaction capabilities.
This research provides a foundation for next-generation miniature deep-sea robots and actuators.