title: Multigait soft robot.
abstract: This manuscript describes a unique class of locomotive robot: A soft robot, composed exclusively of soft materials (elastomeric polymers), which is inspired by animals (e.g., squid, starfish, worms) that do not have hard internal skeletons. Soft lithography was used to fabricate a pneumatically actuated robot capable of sophisticated locomotion (e.g., fluid movement of limbs and multiple gaits). This robot is quadrupedal; it uses no sensors, only five actuators, and a simple pneumatic valving system that operates at low pressures (< 10 psi). A combination of crawling and undulation gaits allowed this robot to navigate a difficult obstacle. This demonstration illustrates an advantage of soft robotics: They are systems in which simple types of actuation produce complex motion.
authors: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors: Robert F
authors: RF
authors: Shepherd
authors: Filip
authors: F
authors: Ilievski
authors: Wonjae
authors: W
authors: Choi
authors: Stephen A
authors: SA
authors: Morin
authors: Adam A
authors: AA
authors: Stokes
authors: Aaron D
authors: AD
authors: Mazzeo
authors: Xin
authors: X
authors: Chen
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Wang
authors: George M
authors: GM
authors: Whitesides
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D032701:Biomimetics; D049832:Decapodiformes; D004867:Equipment Design; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D011312:Pressure; D012371:Robotics; D014741:Video Recording
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers