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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2025

The Modular Design and Production of an Intelligent Robot Based on a Closed-Loop Control Strategy

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Published on: October 14, 2017

An Interconnected Soft Modular Robot with Locomotive Modules and Flexible Structures Actuated Through a Single

Koki Tanaka¹, Matthew Spenko¹

¹Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

|April 4, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a novel modular soft robot with origami-inspired actuators and jamming envelopes for adaptable locomotion and manipulation. This innovative design enhances environmental interaction and cooperative capabilities in soft robotics.

Keywords:

artificial muscles soft interaction soft locomotion soft manipulation variable stiffness actuation

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Materials Science
Mechanical Engineering

Background:

Soft robots offer advantages in adaptability and safety over rigid robots.
Modular designs can enhance robot versatility and reconfigurability.
Controlling compliant structures and their environmental interaction remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

To present a novel interconnected soft robot system.
To demonstrate a unified pneumatic actuation for simplified architecture.
To explore adaptive locomotion and manipulation capabilities.

Main Methods:

Development of highly compliant locomotive modules with origami-inspired actuators and suction cups.
Integration of jamming-capable flexible envelopes for stiffness modulation via granular jamming.
Implementation of a unified pneumatic actuation system for consolidated control.
Utilizing simulation-based design optimization with a genetic algorithm for grasping enhancement.

Main Results:

The soft robot exhibits robust omnidirectional locomotion and cooperative movement.
Demonstrated capabilities include shape formation, object grasping and transportation, obstacle navigation, and diverse terrain locomotion.
Granular jamming effectively modulates envelope stiffness for dynamic environmental interaction.
Optimization significantly improved the system's grasping performance.

Conclusions:

The interconnected soft robot system successfully fuses compliant modules and bodies for advanced environmental interaction.
This modular approach advances soft robotics, offering enhanced adaptability and cooperative functionality.
The unified pneumatic system simplifies the architecture while maintaining comprehensive control.