Amphibious robots have great application potential in many unstructured task scenarios, such as environmental monitoring, resource exploration, and maritime rescue, due to their cross-medium movement capabilities and adaptability to multiple environments. As a typical representative of amphibians, sea turtles can not only crawl on land but also have excellent underwater movement ability, which is an important source of inspiration for amphibious bionic robots. However, due to a lack of high-performance soft actuators, suitable bionic structure designs, and effective control methods, most of the current bionic turtle robots actuated by smart materials can only demonstrate movement in a single medium (e.g., swimming in water or crawling on land). Here, an amphibious turtle robot actuated by bionic muscles that can achieve effective movements in two media was designed. To enhance the amphibious ability of the turtle robot, a cylindrical dielectric elastomer actuator that can adapt to a variety of environments is designed with a maximum bidirectional deformation (±65°) and a high output force (∼80 mN). By optimizing the motion trajectory of the fins and programming the phase control of multiple bionic muscles, the robot's maximum swimming speed reaches 0.4 BL/s. In addition, the robot can realize different motion modes, such as forward, backward, lateral movement, turning, and crawling. Finally, the high mobility and environmental adaptability of the turtle robot are demonstrated in an L-shaped swimming passage and in two mediums (transition from land to water). This work not only improves the motion ability of bionic amphibious robots but is also useful for the motion control of other bionic robots with multiple actuators.
{"title":"A Soft Amphibious Turtle Robot with Flexibility and Omnidirectional Motion Ability Actuated by Multiple Bionic Muscles.","authors":"Yiwei Zhang,Ruiqian Wang,Lianchao Yang,Hengshen Qin,Qi Zhang,Ning Li,Ying Zhao,Lianqing Liu,Chuang Zhang","doi":"10.1177/21695172251383927","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21695172251383927","url":null,"abstract":"Amphibious robots have great application potential in many unstructured task scenarios, such as environmental monitoring, resource exploration, and maritime rescue, due to their cross-medium movement capabilities and adaptability to multiple environments. As a typical representative of amphibians, sea turtles can not only crawl on land but also have excellent underwater movement ability, which is an important source of inspiration for amphibious bionic robots. However, due to a lack of high-performance soft actuators, suitable bionic structure designs, and effective control methods, most of the current bionic turtle robots actuated by smart materials can only demonstrate movement in a single medium (e.g., swimming in water or crawling on land). Here, an amphibious turtle robot actuated by bionic muscles that can achieve effective movements in two media was designed. To enhance the amphibious ability of the turtle robot, a cylindrical dielectric elastomer actuator that can adapt to a variety of environments is designed with a maximum bidirectional deformation (±65°) and a high output force (∼80 mN). By optimizing the motion trajectory of the fins and programming the phase control of multiple bionic muscles, the robot's maximum swimming speed reaches 0.4 BL/s. In addition, the robot can realize different motion modes, such as forward, backward, lateral movement, turning, and crawling. Finally, the high mobility and environmental adaptability of the turtle robot are demonstrated in an L-shaped swimming passage and in two mediums (transition from land to water). This work not only improves the motion ability of bionic amphibious robots but is also useful for the motion control of other bionic robots with multiple actuators.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145194841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-24DOI: 10.1177/21695172251379600
Loong Yi Lee,Silvia Terrile,Saekwang Nam,Tianhao Liang,Nathan Lepora,Jonathan Rossiter
Typical soft robot grippers use a small number of "fingers," often inspired by human hands, limiting adaptability to objects. One way to increase the number of digits in the end effector is through arrays of independent flexible structures, quantizing the gripper and increasing compliance. This work investigates what happens when we "slice" a Fin Ray soft gripper into an array of discrete fingers, called Fin-A-Rays. Fin-A-Rays are modular gripper systems that can be readily integrated into an off-the-shelf two-fingered parallel gripper. Here, between one and 24 Fin Ray fingers of width 2.5 mm to 60 mm are arranged side-by-side as a gripper. An analysis of the effects of finger width on gripper stiffness and object contact is presented via finite element analysis. The design space of Fin-A-Rays was studied via experiments and simulation, and a set of performance metrics for Fin-A-Rays was defined to understand the effects of "slicing" on grasping a set of objects. A design algorithm is also introduced to prearrange a Fin-A-Ray configuration based on an image of the object. The discretized compliance across an array of fingers in a Fin-A-Ray enables several novel behaviors during grasping, including finger splay and twisting. Results show that a balance between finger widths is required when slicing Fin-A-Rays, where algorithmically designed Fin-A-Rays showed higher average performance metrics than uniform configurations. Fin-A-Rays showed new capabilities, including multiobject grasping and in-hand manipulation. The passive morphological adaptability of Fin-A-Rays simplifies grasp planning, enabling delicate grasps for picking and packing complex shapes.
典型的软体机器人抓手使用少量的“手指”，通常受到人手的启发，限制了对物体的适应性。增加末端执行器中位数的一种方法是通过独立的柔性结构阵列，量化夹持器并增加顺应性。这项工作研究了当我们将Fin- Ray软爪“切”成一组离散的手指（称为Fin- a - rays）时会发生什么。Fin-A-Rays是模块化夹持系统，可以很容易地集成到现成的两指平行夹持器中。在这里，宽度为2.5毫米至60毫米的1至24个鳍射线手指并排排列作为夹持器。通过有限元分析，分析了手指宽度对夹持器刚度和与物体接触的影响。通过实验和仿真研究了Fin-A-Rays的设计空间，并定义了一套Fin-A-Rays的性能指标，以了解“切片”对抓取一组对象的影响。本文还介绍了一种基于物体图像预先安排鳍-A- ray结构的设计算法。在Fin-A-Ray中，手指阵列的离散顺应性可以实现抓握过程中的几种新行为，包括手指张开和扭曲。结果表明，在切割Fin-A-Rays时需要平衡手指宽度，其中算法设计的Fin-A-Rays显示出比均匀配置更高的平均性能指标。鱼鳍- a - rays显示了新的能力，包括多物体抓取和手持操作。Fin-A-Rays的被动形态适应性简化了抓取规划，使精细的抓取采摘和包装复杂的形状。
{"title":"Fin-A-Rays: Expanding Soft Gripper Compliance via Discrete Arrays of Flexible Structures.","authors":"Loong Yi Lee,Silvia Terrile,Saekwang Nam,Tianhao Liang,Nathan Lepora,Jonathan Rossiter","doi":"10.1177/21695172251379600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21695172251379600","url":null,"abstract":"Typical soft robot grippers use a small number of \"fingers,\" often inspired by human hands, limiting adaptability to objects. One way to increase the number of digits in the end effector is through arrays of independent flexible structures, quantizing the gripper and increasing compliance. This work investigates what happens when we \"slice\" a Fin Ray soft gripper into an array of discrete fingers, called Fin-A-Rays. Fin-A-Rays are modular gripper systems that can be readily integrated into an off-the-shelf two-fingered parallel gripper. Here, between one and 24 Fin Ray fingers of width 2.5 mm to 60 mm are arranged side-by-side as a gripper. An analysis of the effects of finger width on gripper stiffness and object contact is presented via finite element analysis. The design space of Fin-A-Rays was studied via experiments and simulation, and a set of performance metrics for Fin-A-Rays was defined to understand the effects of \"slicing\" on grasping a set of objects. A design algorithm is also introduced to prearrange a Fin-A-Ray configuration based on an image of the object. The discretized compliance across an array of fingers in a Fin-A-Ray enables several novel behaviors during grasping, including finger splay and twisting. Results show that a balance between finger widths is required when slicing Fin-A-Rays, where algorithmically designed Fin-A-Rays showed higher average performance metrics than uniform configurations. Fin-A-Rays showed new capabilities, including multiobject grasping and in-hand manipulation. The passive morphological adaptability of Fin-A-Rays simplifies grasp planning, enabling delicate grasps for picking and packing complex shapes.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145133926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-18DOI: 10.1177/21695172251379609
Haili Li,Bin Li,Pan Zhou,Zhaoyi Lin,Xingzhi Li,Jiantao Yao
Active woven structures are extensively utilized in wearable and soft robotics due to their exceptional body compliance, lightweight nature, long-term stability, and programmable architectures. Although existing active woven structures have been successfully applied to actuators and sensors, the fabrication of intricate variable stiffness soft robots directly through weaving methods has consistently posed challenges. To address this issue, we draw inspiration from the Chinese knot technique and employ thin McKibben muscles to weave a variety of variable stiffness textiles, including a flexible spine, flexible skin, and a bistable structure, as well as innovative soft robots such as a soft crawling robot, a soft enclosed gripper, and a continuum module. Experimental results demonstrate that the variable stiffness range of the developed variable stiffness textiles exceeds 5.4 times that of the initial stiffness. Furthermore, we also experimentally demonstrate that the woven soft crawling robot (weighing 171 g) can achieve omnidirectional movement on an ferromagnetic surface at a maximum speed of 666.7 mm/min; the woven continuum module (weighing 49 g) can reduce the impact of external forces on the motion angle by over 65% by activating the high stiffness mode; the soft enclosed gripper (weighing 175 g) can lift objects weighing up to 14.7 kg, and the variable stiffness function can enhance its multi-directional bearing capacity by ∼3.3 times. This study offers various new configurations and ideas for the advancement of complex variable stiffness soft robots based on weaving technology.
{"title":"Variable Stiffness Woven Soft Active Textiles and Robots Using Thin McKibben Muscle.","authors":"Haili Li,Bin Li,Pan Zhou,Zhaoyi Lin,Xingzhi Li,Jiantao Yao","doi":"10.1177/21695172251379609","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21695172251379609","url":null,"abstract":"Active woven structures are extensively utilized in wearable and soft robotics due to their exceptional body compliance, lightweight nature, long-term stability, and programmable architectures. Although existing active woven structures have been successfully applied to actuators and sensors, the fabrication of intricate variable stiffness soft robots directly through weaving methods has consistently posed challenges. To address this issue, we draw inspiration from the Chinese knot technique and employ thin McKibben muscles to weave a variety of variable stiffness textiles, including a flexible spine, flexible skin, and a bistable structure, as well as innovative soft robots such as a soft crawling robot, a soft enclosed gripper, and a continuum module. Experimental results demonstrate that the variable stiffness range of the developed variable stiffness textiles exceeds 5.4 times that of the initial stiffness. Furthermore, we also experimentally demonstrate that the woven soft crawling robot (weighing 171 g) can achieve omnidirectional movement on an ferromagnetic surface at a maximum speed of 666.7 mm/min; the woven continuum module (weighing 49 g) can reduce the impact of external forces on the motion angle by over 65% by activating the high stiffness mode; the soft enclosed gripper (weighing 175 g) can lift objects weighing up to 14.7 kg, and the variable stiffness function can enhance its multi-directional bearing capacity by ∼3.3 times. This study offers various new configurations and ideas for the advancement of complex variable stiffness soft robots based on weaving technology.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145083523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal diaphragm-lung systems are soft organs that generate a controllable vacuum. Elephants, as rare land animals, can manipulate all three states of matter using their lung-generated vacuum. In soft robotics, however, current vacuum generation relies on rigid components, and no single soft device effectively handles all states of matter. Traditional soft pumps and grippers are limited in scope: soft pumps provide continuous liquid flow but cannot directly manipulate solids, while grippers manage solids but are ineffective with liquids and gases. Inspired by lung functionality, we present a soft pressure-to-vacuum converter that provides precise control over the suction, holding, and release of solids, liquids, and gases through a single entry and exit point based on negative pressure. Through the selection of appropriate material properties and design variations, our soft device achieves vacuum levels up to -18 kPa, enabling intermittent control and sequential handling of various media without the need for additional components. We demonstrate diverse applications of our soft device, including artificial lungs, liquid blending, vacuum gripping, coffee preparation, and liquid-gas vaporization. This bioinspired device not only provides a safe and adaptable solution for vacuum generation but also addresses a critical gap in soft robotics, offering a multifunctional system capable of manipulating all states of matter.
{"title":"Bioinspired Vacuum Generation via Pressure-to-Vacuum Conversion for Manipulating all Phases of Matter.","authors":"Ragesh Chellattoan,Alessio Mondini,Barbara Mazzolai","doi":"10.1177/21695172251362668","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21695172251362668","url":null,"abstract":"Animal diaphragm-lung systems are soft organs that generate a controllable vacuum. Elephants, as rare land animals, can manipulate all three states of matter using their lung-generated vacuum. In soft robotics, however, current vacuum generation relies on rigid components, and no single soft device effectively handles all states of matter. Traditional soft pumps and grippers are limited in scope: soft pumps provide continuous liquid flow but cannot directly manipulate solids, while grippers manage solids but are ineffective with liquids and gases. Inspired by lung functionality, we present a soft pressure-to-vacuum converter that provides precise control over the suction, holding, and release of solids, liquids, and gases through a single entry and exit point based on negative pressure. Through the selection of appropriate material properties and design variations, our soft device achieves vacuum levels up to -18 kPa, enabling intermittent control and sequential handling of various media without the need for additional components. We demonstrate diverse applications of our soft device, including artificial lungs, liquid blending, vacuum gripping, coffee preparation, and liquid-gas vaporization. This bioinspired device not only provides a safe and adaptable solution for vacuum generation but also addresses a critical gap in soft robotics, offering a multifunctional system capable of manipulating all states of matter.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145031966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1177/21695172251364758
William Foster-Hall,David J Harvey,Ling Yin,Rini Akmeliawati
Soft robotic systems are promising for diverse space applications due to their embedded compliance, promising locomotion methods, and efficient use of mass and volume. Space environments are harsher and more varied than those on Earth; extreme temperature, pressure, and radiation may impact the performance and robustness of soft robots. Cryogenic temperatures on celestial bodies such as the Moon or Europa pose significant challenges to the flexibility and actuation performance of conventional soft systems. We present a soft robotic design methodology using novel metallic-based soft robotic structures specifically tailored to extreme space environments. Structures are presented as tunable, reconfigurable modules for soft systems. Module behavior under compression is characterized while submerged in liquid nitrogen, and structural changes are investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The structures retained flexibility at -196 °C, with a limited 5% increase in peak stiffness over 100 cycles while maintaining a full range of motion. A soft robotic limb was constructed from these modules and demonstrated successful 2D manipulation and grasping of objects at -196 °C. SEM analysis showed no physical signs of microfracture or deformation after cryogenic cycling, indicating changes to the underlying grain structure consistent with properties observed in cold-working stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures in the literature. Our findings demonstrate that metallic soft robotic structures maintain flexibility and exhibit promising performance in cryogenic, analogue space environments. This metal-based cable structure design approach provides a foundation for the development of functional, robust, and reconfigurable soft robots capable of operating in extreme space environments.
{"title":"Soft Robotics for Space Applications: Cryogenic Performance of Modular Metallic Cable Structures.","authors":"William Foster-Hall,David J Harvey,Ling Yin,Rini Akmeliawati","doi":"10.1177/21695172251364758","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21695172251364758","url":null,"abstract":"Soft robotic systems are promising for diverse space applications due to their embedded compliance, promising locomotion methods, and efficient use of mass and volume. Space environments are harsher and more varied than those on Earth; extreme temperature, pressure, and radiation may impact the performance and robustness of soft robots. Cryogenic temperatures on celestial bodies such as the Moon or Europa pose significant challenges to the flexibility and actuation performance of conventional soft systems. We present a soft robotic design methodology using novel metallic-based soft robotic structures specifically tailored to extreme space environments. Structures are presented as tunable, reconfigurable modules for soft systems. Module behavior under compression is characterized while submerged in liquid nitrogen, and structural changes are investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The structures retained flexibility at -196 °C, with a limited 5% increase in peak stiffness over 100 cycles while maintaining a full range of motion. A soft robotic limb was constructed from these modules and demonstrated successful 2D manipulation and grasping of objects at -196 °C. SEM analysis showed no physical signs of microfracture or deformation after cryogenic cycling, indicating changes to the underlying grain structure consistent with properties observed in cold-working stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures in the literature. Our findings demonstrate that metallic soft robotic structures maintain flexibility and exhibit promising performance in cryogenic, analogue space environments. This metal-based cable structure design approach provides a foundation for the development of functional, robust, and reconfigurable soft robots capable of operating in extreme space environments.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145031965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1177/21695172251364193
Hao Liu,Yuchen Tang,Chongyang Wang,Yongming Yang,Mengyuan Liu,Lianqing Liu
Reliable anchoring is a critical enabling technology for stable manipulations within complex human lumen environments. Existing anchoring technologies may cause damage to the soft tissue or fail to adapt to the complex and variable shape of lumen. We propose a complex balloon anchoring mechanism driven by multimodal pressure, which could form a stable adhesion between the anchoring unit and the lumen. The combined driving pressures also enable shape adaptation to expand or contract as required. The manufacturing process for the balloon-type anchoring unit is detailed, which realizes high diameter/length ratio. The mechanics model is established, describing the deformation of the anchoring unit. Anchoring experiments were conducted in phantoms, mimicking both straight and tapered lumens, and ex vivo tissues. Anchoring performances were evaluated by comparing them with positive pressure-actuated single balloon and double balloon. The results demonstrate that the proposed anchoring technology achieves more reliable anchoring performance and adaptively adjusts the anchoring dimension.
{"title":"Multimodal Pressure-Actuated System Toward Adaptive Anchoring Within Complex Human Lumen.","authors":"Hao Liu,Yuchen Tang,Chongyang Wang,Yongming Yang,Mengyuan Liu,Lianqing Liu","doi":"10.1177/21695172251364193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21695172251364193","url":null,"abstract":"Reliable anchoring is a critical enabling technology for stable manipulations within complex human lumen environments. Existing anchoring technologies may cause damage to the soft tissue or fail to adapt to the complex and variable shape of lumen. We propose a complex balloon anchoring mechanism driven by multimodal pressure, which could form a stable adhesion between the anchoring unit and the lumen. The combined driving pressures also enable shape adaptation to expand or contract as required. The manufacturing process for the balloon-type anchoring unit is detailed, which realizes high diameter/length ratio. The mechanics model is established, describing the deformation of the anchoring unit. Anchoring experiments were conducted in phantoms, mimicking both straight and tapered lumens, and ex vivo tissues. Anchoring performances were evaluated by comparing them with positive pressure-actuated single balloon and double balloon. The results demonstrate that the proposed anchoring technology achieves more reliable anchoring performance and adaptively adjusts the anchoring dimension.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144825802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-18DOI: 10.1177/21695172251360906
Xuyang Ren,Tianle Pan,Yichong Sun,Wing Yin Ng,Philip Wai Yan Chiu,Zheng Li
Robots are frequently employed for navigation and detection tasks within tubular environments. However, when operating in soft tubular environments, they face significant challenges. The inherent instability of these structures can impede a robot's locomotion, and their soft tissues might be damaged by the interaction with robots. This study proposes a real-time stiffness perception system in soft tubular environments (e.g., colonic lumen) based on the earthworm-like movement to realize locomotion and detection simultaneously. The proposed soft robot features a central actuator (CA) for axial elongation and contraction, along with two auxiliary anchoring actuators positioned at the front and rear ends (FAA and RAA) to prevent backward slippage during locomotion. Notably, FAA is equipped with a perception mechanism capable of detecting the stiffness of the tubular environment through its interaction during inflation. The analytical modeling for CA's axial elongation, as well as the interaction between FAA and the surrounding tubular environment, has been developed and validated through experimental studies. Furthermore, the overall evaluation is conducted in two distinct tubes with: (1) uniform wall thickness but varied elastic moduli and (2) uniform elastic modulus but varied wall thicknesses. The successful locomotion and accurate perception confirm the capability and efficiency of the robot. In conclusion, the proposed robot system exhibits promising applications for locomotion and simultaneous stiffness detection in medical diagnostics and other fields where simultaneous locomotion and stiffness detection are crucial.
{"title":"Simultaneous Locomotion with Stiffness Perception of an Earthworm-Like Robot in a Soft Tubular Environment.","authors":"Xuyang Ren,Tianle Pan,Yichong Sun,Wing Yin Ng,Philip Wai Yan Chiu,Zheng Li","doi":"10.1177/21695172251360906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21695172251360906","url":null,"abstract":"Robots are frequently employed for navigation and detection tasks within tubular environments. However, when operating in soft tubular environments, they face significant challenges. The inherent instability of these structures can impede a robot's locomotion, and their soft tissues might be damaged by the interaction with robots. This study proposes a real-time stiffness perception system in soft tubular environments (e.g., colonic lumen) based on the earthworm-like movement to realize locomotion and detection simultaneously. The proposed soft robot features a central actuator (CA) for axial elongation and contraction, along with two auxiliary anchoring actuators positioned at the front and rear ends (FAA and RAA) to prevent backward slippage during locomotion. Notably, FAA is equipped with a perception mechanism capable of detecting the stiffness of the tubular environment through its interaction during inflation. The analytical modeling for CA's axial elongation, as well as the interaction between FAA and the surrounding tubular environment, has been developed and validated through experimental studies. Furthermore, the overall evaluation is conducted in two distinct tubes with: (1) uniform wall thickness but varied elastic moduli and (2) uniform elastic modulus but varied wall thicknesses. The successful locomotion and accurate perception confirm the capability and efficiency of the robot. In conclusion, the proposed robot system exhibits promising applications for locomotion and simultaneous stiffness detection in medical diagnostics and other fields where simultaneous locomotion and stiffness detection are crucial.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144664187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luke F Gockowski,Charles Xiao,Amy Hao,Yangying Zhu,Bolin Liao,Megan T Valentine,Elliot W Hawkes
Actuation is a key challenge for the field of soft robotics. One method of actuation, thermally driven liquid-to-vapor phase change heat engines, is particularly compelling due to its high forces, large strokes, and relative simplicity. However, this form of actuation suffers from a very low efficiency, making its impact for practical applications limited. Here we apply thermodynamic analysis to these phase-change actuators to identify major inefficiencies and offer three key insights that soft roboticists can leverage to improve efficiency: (1) maximize the ratio of input power to heat loss, (2) operate at an intermediate temperature, and (3) maximize volumetric expansion. We confirm the validity of these insights via benchtop experiments and show efficiencies nearly two orders of magnitude higher than previously reported. We demonstrate the usefulness of these insights by applying them to the design and construction of a compliant roller powered directly by sunlight and capable of rolling every 16 s. Our results guide the design of more efficient phase-change actuators for soft robots and more generally, demonstrate the potential of applying thermodynamic analysis to improve the efficiency of soft actuators.
{"title":"Improving the Efficiency of Soft Phase-Change Actuators Using Thermodynamic Analysis.","authors":"Luke F Gockowski,Charles Xiao,Amy Hao,Yangying Zhu,Bolin Liao,Megan T Valentine,Elliot W Hawkes","doi":"10.1089/soro.2024.0139","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2024.0139","url":null,"abstract":"Actuation is a key challenge for the field of soft robotics. One method of actuation, thermally driven liquid-to-vapor phase change heat engines, is particularly compelling due to its high forces, large strokes, and relative simplicity. However, this form of actuation suffers from a very low efficiency, making its impact for practical applications limited. Here we apply thermodynamic analysis to these phase-change actuators to identify major inefficiencies and offer three key insights that soft roboticists can leverage to improve efficiency: (1) maximize the ratio of input power to heat loss, (2) operate at an intermediate temperature, and (3) maximize volumetric expansion. We confirm the validity of these insights via benchtop experiments and show efficiencies nearly two orders of magnitude higher than previously reported. We demonstrate the usefulness of these insights by applying them to the design and construction of a compliant roller powered directly by sunlight and capable of rolling every 16 s. Our results guide the design of more efficient phase-change actuators for soft robots and more generally, demonstrate the potential of applying thermodynamic analysis to improve the efficiency of soft actuators.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft robots with motion sensing can achieve motion feedback and monitor environmental changes. Motion sensing significantly expands the potential applications of soft robots in exploration and other fields. This study investigates an inchworm-like miniature soft robot capable of rapid locomotion and autonomous terrain-adaptive exploration. The motion is enabled by two key innovations: (1) a piezoelectric driving body that harnesses the substantial expansion-contraction deformation through an enhanced geometric nonlinearity model, overcoming limitations of conventional small-deformation theories, and (2) the adhesive forces produced by electroadhesive pads. This robot can move rapidly on various substrates, reaching a maximum speed of 1.93 body lengths per second. Additionally, the robot exhibits excellent load-bearing capacity and robustness, capable of pushing a payload of 6.8 g (8.35 times its weight of 0.814 g) and resisting strong external forces. The robot shows environmental adaptability in different terrains, such as crawling on rough terrains (including sandpaper, Ra = 10.8 μm), passing through a circular pipe with an inner diameter of 92 mm, descending a 5 mm step, ascending slopes with a 28° inclination, and traversing narrow gaps with a height of 11.5 mm (0.38 times the robot's maximum body height). Furthermore, the integration of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) system provides the robot with motion sensing capabilities, facilitating real-time position detection and environmental mapping.
{"title":"An Inchworm-Inspired Fast-Moving Micro Flexible Robot for Autonomous Terrain-Adaptive Exploration.","authors":"Yingzhi Wang,Jiaquan Xu,Ziwen Tang,Yejia Wu,Qian Zhang,Hong Ding,Jin Xie","doi":"10.1089/soro.2025.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2025.0004","url":null,"abstract":"Soft robots with motion sensing can achieve motion feedback and monitor environmental changes. Motion sensing significantly expands the potential applications of soft robots in exploration and other fields. This study investigates an inchworm-like miniature soft robot capable of rapid locomotion and autonomous terrain-adaptive exploration. The motion is enabled by two key innovations: (1) a piezoelectric driving body that harnesses the substantial expansion-contraction deformation through an enhanced geometric nonlinearity model, overcoming limitations of conventional small-deformation theories, and (2) the adhesive forces produced by electroadhesive pads. This robot can move rapidly on various substrates, reaching a maximum speed of 1.93 body lengths per second. Additionally, the robot exhibits excellent load-bearing capacity and robustness, capable of pushing a payload of 6.8 g (8.35 times its weight of 0.814 g) and resisting strong external forces. The robot shows environmental adaptability in different terrains, such as crawling on rough terrains (including sandpaper, Ra = 10.8 μm), passing through a circular pipe with an inner diameter of 92 mm, descending a 5 mm step, ascending slopes with a 28° inclination, and traversing narrow gaps with a height of 11.5 mm (0.38 times the robot's maximum body height). Furthermore, the integration of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) system provides the robot with motion sensing capabilities, facilitating real-time position detection and environmental mapping.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144521498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jilei Liu,Zhiyin Xu,Jinyu Lu,Jiangjun Hou,Xun Gu,Jiarong Wu,Na Li
Soft spherical tensegrity robots exhibit many desirable properties, including impact resistance and extreme lightweight, which give them strong potential for operation in complex environments such as search and rescue missions and space exploration. However, existing spherical tensegrity robots are still unable to achieve 100% exploration in unknown and complex terrains. In this study, we present a 10-bar soft spherical tensegrity robot based on dodecahedron tensegrity (TR-10) with multiple movement gaits. It can generate a rolling motion by actively changing the length of the internal drive module, and the MATLAB dynamic model is established for simulation. The multi-objective optimization method is used to obtain the driving strategies for various basic gaits of the TR-10. The generated movement paths, formed by combining gaits, can fully cover the map. At the same time, the method for determining the rolling axis is proposed, which can enable the robot to roll to the target point along the optimal path. Finally, we fabricated the TR-10 prototype capable of a wireless-controlled rolling motion. By comparing the simulation and experimental results of the basic gaits and movement paths, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified. In addition, we also compare it with the classical 6-bar 24-cable tensegrity robot, and the results show that our proposed TR-10 can complete different paths with shorter distances and smaller offsets.
{"title":"Rolling Motion of Bar-Driven Soft Spherical Tensegrity Robot Based on Dodecahedron.","authors":"Jilei Liu,Zhiyin Xu,Jinyu Lu,Jiangjun Hou,Xun Gu,Jiarong Wu,Na Li","doi":"10.1089/soro.2024.0126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2024.0126","url":null,"abstract":"Soft spherical tensegrity robots exhibit many desirable properties, including impact resistance and extreme lightweight, which give them strong potential for operation in complex environments such as search and rescue missions and space exploration. However, existing spherical tensegrity robots are still unable to achieve 100% exploration in unknown and complex terrains. In this study, we present a 10-bar soft spherical tensegrity robot based on dodecahedron tensegrity (TR-10) with multiple movement gaits. It can generate a rolling motion by actively changing the length of the internal drive module, and the MATLAB dynamic model is established for simulation. The multi-objective optimization method is used to obtain the driving strategies for various basic gaits of the TR-10. The generated movement paths, formed by combining gaits, can fully cover the map. At the same time, the method for determining the rolling axis is proposed, which can enable the robot to roll to the target point along the optimal path. Finally, we fabricated the TR-10 prototype capable of a wireless-controlled rolling motion. By comparing the simulation and experimental results of the basic gaits and movement paths, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified. In addition, we also compare it with the classical 6-bar 24-cable tensegrity robot, and the results show that our proposed TR-10 can complete different paths with shorter distances and smaller offsets.","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144146192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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