Resilient, untethered soft robot
Abstract
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 Pneumatic network 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 handle, 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.
- Inventors:
- Issue Date:
- Research Org.:
- Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1651043
- Patent Number(s):
- 10689044
- Application Number:
- 14/755,026
- Assignee:
- President and Fellows of Harvard College (Cambridge, MA)
- Patent Classifications (CPCs):
-
Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES Y10 - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC Y10S - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
B - PERFORMING OPERATIONS B62 - LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS B62D - MOTOR VEHICLES
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-00ER45852
- Resource Type:
- Patent
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: 06/30/2015
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Citation Formats
Tolley, Michael T., Shepherd, Robert F., Mosadegh, Bobak, Wood, Robert J., and Whitesides, George M. Resilient, untethered soft robot. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web.
Tolley, Michael T., Shepherd, Robert F., Mosadegh, Bobak, Wood, Robert J., & Whitesides, George M. Resilient, untethered soft robot. United States.
Tolley, Michael T., Shepherd, Robert F., Mosadegh, Bobak, Wood, Robert J., and Whitesides, George M. Tue .
"Resilient, untethered soft robot". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1651043.
@article{osti_1651043,
title = {Resilient, untethered soft robot},
author = {Tolley, Michael T. and Shepherd, Robert F. and Mosadegh, Bobak and Wood, Robert J. and Whitesides, George M.},
abstractNote = {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 Pneumatic network 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 handle, 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.},
doi = {},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {6}
}