A Resilient, Untethered Soft Robot

نویسندگان

  • Michael T. Tolley
  • Robert F. Shepherd
  • Bobak Mosadegh
  • Kevin C. Galloway
  • Michael Wehner
  • Michael Karpelson
  • Robert J. Wood
  • George M. Whitesides
چکیده

A pneumatically powered, fully untethered mobile soft robot is described. Composites consisting of silicone elastomer, polyaramid fabric, and hollow glass microspheres were used to fabricate a sufficiently large soft robot to carry the miniature air compressors, battery, valves, and controller needed for autonomous operation. Fabrication techniques were developed to mold a 0.65-meter-long soft body with modified Pneu-Net actuators capable of operating at the elevated pressures (up to 138 kPa) required to actuate the legs of the robot and hold payloads of up to 8 kg. The soft robot is safe to interact with during operation, and its silicone body is innately resilient to a variety of adverse environmental conditions including snow, puddles of water, direct (albeit limited) exposure to flames, and the crushing force of being run over by an automobile.

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تاریخ انتشار 2013