A Plant Tendril-Like Soft Robot That Grasps and Anchors by Exploiting its Material Arrangement
A Plant Tendril-Like Soft Robot That Grasps and Anchors by Exploiting its Material Arrangement
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DOI：
10.1109/lra.2022.3153713
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发表时间：
2022-04-01
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Mazzolai, Barbara
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Meder, Fabian;Babu, Saravana Prashanth Murali;Mazzolai, Barbara
一些攀援植物在非结构化环境中移动时，使用卷须作为有效的策略来锚和支撑它们的重量。在这封信中，我们模仿卷须的基本功能，卷须通过螺旋缠绕（盘绕）以柔软的状态缠绕在支撑物上，然后木质化或木质化以加强附着。我们使用现成的材料和简单的制造方法在材料层面实现简单的分层预编程功能，以实现卷绕和加强，并结合电气控制。因此，所得到的机器人由双层硅酮弹性体组成，该双层硅酮弹性体封装热塑性芯和加热元件。在其平衡状态下自发形成螺旋盘绕构型的双层由热塑性芯在电阻加热时的固-液相转变控制。将这些机制整合到一个单一的结构中可以模仿基本的卷须功能。我们的实现是一个简单的装配与电气控制，提供的观点是一个积木的软机器人，需要可控的附件解决方案，如不断增长的文物和设备，在非结构化环境中运行，例如，在植被中运作。
Some climbing plants use tendrils as efficient strategies to anchor and support their weights while they move in unstructured environments. In this letter, we mimic the essential functions of tendrils that wrap around the support in a soft state by a spiral winding (coiling) and then lignify or stiffen to strengthen the attachment. We implement a simple hierarchical pre-programmed functionality at the material level using off-the-shelf materials and easy fabrication methods to achieve coiling and stiffening and incorporate an electrical control. The resulting robots hence consist of a bilayer of silicone elastomers that encapsulate a thermoplastic core and a heating element. The bilayer that spontaneously forms a helically coiled configuration in its equilibrium state is controlled by a solid-to-liquid phase transition of the thermoplastic core upon resistive heating. Integrating these mechanisms into a single structure allows mimicking the basic tendril functions. Our realization is a straightforward assembly with electrical control that offers the perspective to be a building block for soft robots that require controllable attachment solutions such as growing artifacts and devices that operate in unstructured environments, e.g., operating in vegetation.