A minimally designed soft crawling robot for robust locomotion in unstructured pipes.

Journal: Bioinspiration & biomimetics
Published Date: Jul 8, 2022

Abstract

Soft robots have attracted increasing attention due to their excellent versatility and broad applications. In this article, we present a minimally designed soft crawling robot (SCR) capable of robust locomotion in unstructured pipes with various geometric/material properties and surface topology. In particular, the SCR can squeeze through narrow pipes smaller than its cross section and propel robustly in spiked pipes. The gait pattern and locomotion mechanism of this robot are experimentally investigated and analysed by the finite element analysis, revealing that the resultant forward frictional force is generated due to the asymmetric mechanical properties along the length direction of the robot. The proposed simple yet working SCR could inspire novel designs and applications of soft robots in unstructured narrow canals such as large intestines or industrial pipelines.

Authors

  • Wenkai Yu
    Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Soft Mechanics & Smart Manufacturing, Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
  • Xin Li
    Veterinary Diagnostic Center, Shanghai Animal Disease Control Center, Shanghai, China.
  • Dunyu Chen
    Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Soft Mechanics & Smart Manufacturing, Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
  • Jingyi Liu
    College of Sciences, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China.
  • Jiaji Su
    Laboratory for Soft Machines & Electronics, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, United States of America.
  • Ju Liu
    Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Soft Mechanics & Smart Manufacturing, Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
  • Changyong Cao
    Laboratory for Soft Machines and Electronics, School of Packaging, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
  • Hongyan Yuan
    Disease Biophysics Group, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

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