Fluidic Control for Soft Robotic Systems in Extreme Environments

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Developing autonomous mobile robots capable of human interaction depends on our ability to use the best tools for the job. New interesting approaches that tackle the problems of autonomy and interaction are developed every year. However, we have been unable to integrate all these new technologies into our systems due to high engineering costs. We need to rethink the way we design hardware considering other targets (fluidic systems) to make the design of custom hardware accessible to roboticists. It is important that we identify opportunities to apply digital systems and software engineering best practices to develop an automated software pipeline for control architectures of robots.Fluidic systems offer distinct advantages over electronics that make them suitable in situation with high radiation, electromagnetic interference, and explosive atmospheres. Fluidics reduce the number of control lines required both for soft and hydraulic robots which are necessary for human interaction and high-power applications (e.g. construction) respectively.To aim of this project is to develop integrated soft and hydraulic robotic systems which have fluidic, rather than electronic control for safe operation in extreme environments.