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In a world first, scientists have created soft robots that can be 3D printed and then just get up and walk out of the printer that made them. And it can be done using a open-source platform that costs only around $500 using off-the-shelf parts.
“It used to take years to figure out how to print using these materials,” said Maks Gepner of the University of Edinburgh Schools of Engineering and Informatics. “Using our new platform, anyone can now easily print things which were previously thought to be impossible. This is a game-changer for engineers and artists alike.
“Our hope is that this technology will help drive the next wave of research breakthroughs. Without the long-standing manufacturing and design bottlenecks holding it back, we believe soft robotics is ready to make a major real-world impact.”
The scientists’ research, published in the journal Device, reveals that “virtually anyone” can “rapidly and reliably produce fluidic soft machines, even without prior experience.”
These tiny, flexible, four-legged robots have the ability to autonomously walk out of the 3D printer powered by compressed air rather than by electronics. Once printed, the robots are hooked up to what is known as a CMOS pneumatic ring oscillator, which outputs a 3-phase oscillating pressure signal (air current) into the robot’s body, triggering two “ligament” actuators in each leg to make it move laterally and one “foot” actuator to lift the leg off the ground.
The scientists have also made their entire study, including how one can create these same robots, publicly available for anyone to try.
“We hope that this will encourage others to contribute to the project as something that belongs to the whole community rather than one particular research group,” they wrote. “We have also set up a dedicated channel on the Soft Robotics Forum server on Discord. This online space is aimed at facilitating collaborative research between members of the international research community. The dedicated channel will enable newcomers to seek help and ask questions when assembling the printer and then later contribute to the project by offering their own advice, as well as ideas and suggestions for improvements.”
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