Multigait soft robot

TLDR

The manuscript introduces a soft, elastomeric robot inspired by limbless animals that lack hard skeletons. Using soft lithography, the authors fabricated a pneumatically actuated quadrupedal robot with five actuators and a low‑pressure (<10 psi) valving system, operating without sensors. By combining crawling and undulation gaits, the robot successfully navigated a challenging obstacle, illustrating how simple actuation can generate complex motion in soft robots.

Abstract

This manuscript describes a unique class of locomotive robot: A soft robot, composed exclusively of soft materials (elastomeric polymers), which is inspired by animals (e.g., squid, starfish, worms) that do not have hard internal skeletons. Soft lithography was used to fabricate a pneumatically actuated robot capable of sophisticated locomotion (e.g., fluid movement of limbs and multiple gaits). This robot is quadrupedal; it uses no sensors, only five actuators, and a simple pneumatic valving system that operates at low pressures (< 10 psi). A combination of crawling and undulation gaits allowed this robot to navigate a difficult obstacle. This demonstration illustrates an advantage of soft robotics: They are systems in which simple types of actuation produce complex motion.