Issue 41, 2022

A 3D printed hydrostatic skeleton for an earthworm-inspired soft burrowing robot

Abstract

Moving through soil is challenging for robots, particularly for soft robots. Herein, we propose a support structure, based on the hydrostatic skeleton of earthworms, to overcome this problem. To create extremely flexible, thin-walled, worm-sized deformed segments, a specialized 3D printer for low-hardness rubber was utilized. To obtain large radial deformation, we investigated the properties of the soft materials for 3D printing and the geometry of the segments. Notably, segments are deformed with multiply-wound shape memory alloy wires. We constructed an earthworm robot by connecting shape memory alloy-driven segments in series and experimentally demonstrated that this robot could propel in the soil. The proposed robot is unique in that it has a small diameter of 10 mm and exhibits a peristaltic motion in soil.

Graphical abstract: A 3D printed hydrostatic skeleton for an earthworm-inspired soft burrowing robot

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Jun 2022
Accepted
05 Sep 2022
First published
11 Okt 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Soft Matter, 2022,18, 7990-7997

A 3D printed hydrostatic skeleton for an earthworm-inspired soft burrowing robot

R. Niiyama, K. Matsushita, M. Ikeda, K. Or and Y. Kuniyoshi, Soft Matter, 2022, 18, 7990 DOI: 10.1039/D2SM00882C

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