Aerial Track-Guided Autonomous Soft Ring Robot

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Materials Science
• Soft Robotics

Background:

• Soft robots offer unique advantages in complex environments due to their flexibility.
• Precise motion control in 3D space remains a significant challenge for soft robotic systems.
• Existing soft robots often require complex spatiotemporal control of actuation sources for navigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an autonomous soft robot capable of navigating pre-defined tracks in 3D space.
• To achieve motion control using constant photothermal actuation without complex external control.
• To demonstrate the robot's adaptability and load-carrying capacity on diverse tracks.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a soft twisted ring robot from liquid crystal elastomers.
• Utilizing constant infrared light for photothermal actuation, inducing self-flipping motion.
• Employing screw theory to translate rotary motion into linear movement along thread-based tracks.

Main Results:

• The soft ring robot autonomously navigated various 3D tracks (circular, polygonal, spiral) under constant photothermal actuation.
• The robot demonstrated obstacle negotiation (e.g., knots) and the ability to ascend/descend steep slopes (up to 80°).
• The robot successfully transported loads exceeding 12 times its own weight and adapted to tracks of varying materials and sizes.

Conclusions:

• The developed soft twisted ring robot offers a novel, autonomous locomotion strategy for 3D environments.
• The photothermal actuation and screw-based mechanism provide robust and adaptable navigation capabilities.
• This approach overcomes limitations of complex control systems and demonstrates potential for versatile soft robotic applications.