TY - JOUR
T1 - A Worm-like Soft Robot Based on Adhesion-Controlled Electrohydraulic Actuators
AU - Wu, Yangzhuo
AU - Sun, Zhe
AU - Xiang, Yu
AU - Zhao, Jieliang
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - Worms are organisms characterized by simple structures, low energy consumption, and stable movement. Inspired by these characteristics, worm-like soft robots demonstrate exceptional adaptability to unstructured environments, attracting considerable interest in the field of biomimetic engineering. The primary challenge currently involves improving the motion performance of worm-like robots from the perspectives of actuation and anchoring. In this study, a single segment worm-like soft robot driven by electrohydraulic actuators is proposed. The robot consists of a soft actuation module and two symmetrical anchoring modules. The actuation modules enable multi-degree-of-freedom motion of the robot using symmetric dual-electrode electrohydraulic actuators, while the anchoring modules provide active friction control through bistable electrohydraulic actuators. A hierarchical microstructure design is used for the biomimetic adhesive surface, enabling rapid, reversible, and stable attachment to and detachment from different surfaces, thereby improving the robot’s surface anchoring performance. Experimental results show that the designed robot can perform peristaltic and bending motions similar to a worm. It achieves rapid bidirectional propulsion on both dry and wet surfaces, with a maximum speed of 10.36 mm/s (over 6 velocity/length ratio (min−1)).
AB - Worms are organisms characterized by simple structures, low energy consumption, and stable movement. Inspired by these characteristics, worm-like soft robots demonstrate exceptional adaptability to unstructured environments, attracting considerable interest in the field of biomimetic engineering. The primary challenge currently involves improving the motion performance of worm-like robots from the perspectives of actuation and anchoring. In this study, a single segment worm-like soft robot driven by electrohydraulic actuators is proposed. The robot consists of a soft actuation module and two symmetrical anchoring modules. The actuation modules enable multi-degree-of-freedom motion of the robot using symmetric dual-electrode electrohydraulic actuators, while the anchoring modules provide active friction control through bistable electrohydraulic actuators. A hierarchical microstructure design is used for the biomimetic adhesive surface, enabling rapid, reversible, and stable attachment to and detachment from different surfaces, thereby improving the robot’s surface anchoring performance. Experimental results show that the designed robot can perform peristaltic and bending motions similar to a worm. It achieves rapid bidirectional propulsion on both dry and wet surfaces, with a maximum speed of 10.36 mm/s (over 6 velocity/length ratio (min−1)).
KW - biomimetic wet adhesive
KW - electrohydraulic force
KW - soft robot
KW - worm-inspired
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85213385108&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/biomimetics9120776
DO - 10.3390/biomimetics9120776
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85213385108
SN - 2313-7673
VL - 9
JO - Biomimetics
JF - Biomimetics
IS - 12
M1 - 776
ER -