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Integration of both actuation and proprioception into the robot body would provide actuation and sensing in a single integrated system. Within this work, a manufacturing approach for such actuators is investigated that relies on 3D printing…
Fluid-driven elastomeric actuators (FEAs) are among the most popular actuators in the emerging field of soft robotics. Intrinsically compliant, with continuum of motion, large strokes, little friction, and high power-to-weight ratio, they…
Conventional soft pneumatic actuators, typically based on hollow elastomeric chambers, often suffer from small structural support and require costly geometry-specific redesigns for multimodal functionality. Porous materials such as foam,…
Mechanical metamaterials actuators achieve pre-determined input--output operations exploiting architectural features encoded within a single 3D printed element, thus removing the need of assembling different structural components. Despite…
Autonomous deployment and shape reconfiguration of structures is a crucial field of research in space exploration with emerging applications in the automotive, building and biomedical industries. Challenges in achieving autonomy include:…
The rapid design and fabrication of soft robotic matter is of growing interest for shape morphing, actuation, and wearable devices. Here, we report a facile fabrication method for creating soft robotic materials with embedded pneumatics…
Electroactive-Polymers (EAPs) are one of the best soft materials with great applications in active microfluidics. Ionic ones (i-EAPs) have more promising features for being appropriate candidates to use in active microfluidic devices. Here,…
Conformable robotic systems are attractive for applications in which they can be used to actuate structures with large surface areas, to provide forces through wearable garments, or to realize autonomous robotic systems. We present a new…
The mechanical response of interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs) with stochastic spinodal topologies is investigated experimentally and numerically. Model polymeric systems are fabricated by Polyjet multi-material printing, with the…
Magnetic remote actuation of soft materials is attractive for applications such as transforming materials and medical robots. However, due to manufacturing limitations, microscale magnetoactive devices are scarce -- light-based additive…
We describe a fluidic actuator design that replaces the sealed chamber of a hydraulic cylinder using a soft actuator to provide compliant linear compression with a large force ($\geq$100 N) at a low operation pressure ($\leq$50 kPa) for a…
Many soft-body organisms found in nature flourish underwater. Similarly, soft robots are potentially well-suited for underwater environments partly because the problematic effects of gravity, friction, and harmonic oscillations are less…
Trapped-ion applications, such as in quantum information, precision measurements, optical clocks, and mass spectrometry, rely on specialized high-performance ion traps. The latter applications typically employ traditional machining to…
This paper presents a novel soft robotic system for a deformable mannequin that can be employed to physically realize the 3D geometry of different human bodies. The soft membrane on a mannequin is deformed by inflating several curved…
3D-printed bellow soft pneumatic arms are widely adopted for their flexible design, ease of fabrication, and large deformation capabilities. However, their low stiffness limits their real-world applications. Although several methods exist…
This work introduces a novel technique for fabricating functional robots using 3D printers. Simultaneously depositing photopolymers and a non-curing liquid allows complex, pre-filled fluidic channels to be fabricated. This new printing…
Membranes are ubiquitous in nature with primary functions that include adaptive filtering and selective transport of chemical and molecular species. Being critical to cellular functions, they are also fundamental in many areas of science…
Lightweight, durable textile-based inflatable soft actuators are widely used in soft robotics, particularly for wearable robots in rehabilitation and in enhancing human performance in demanding jobs. Fabricating these actuators typically…
While its biological significance is well-documented, its application in soft robotics, particularly for the transport of fragile and irregularly shaped objects, remains underexplored. This study presents a modular soft robotic actuator…
This paper introduces a computational composite material comprising layers for actuation, computation and energy storage. Key to its design is inexpensive materials assembled from traditionally available fabrication machines to support the…