Tunable, soft, and multifunctional robots are contributing to developments in medical and rehabilitative robotics, human-machine interaction, and intelligent home technology. A key aspect of soft robot fabrication is the ability to use flexible and efficient schemes to enable the seamless and simultaneous integration of configurable structures. Here, we report a strategy for programming design features and functions in elastomeric surfaces. We selectively modified these elastomeric surfaces via laser scanning and then penetrated them with an active particle–infused solvent to enable controllable deformation, folding, and functionality integration. The functionality of the elastomers can be erased by a solvent retreatment and reprocessed by repeating the active particle infusion process. We established a platform technique for fabricating programmable and reprocessable elastomeric sheets by varying detailed morphology patterns and active particles. We used this technique to produce functional soft ferromagnetic origami robots with seamlessly integrated structures and various active functions, such as robots that mimic flowers with petals bent at different angles and with different curvatures, low-friction swimming robots, multimode locomotion carriers with gradient-stiffness claws for protecting and delivering objects, and frog-like robots with adaptive switchable coloration that responds to external thermal and optical stimuli.
Soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) are extensively investigated due to their simple control strategies for producing sophisticated motions. However, the motions or operations of homogeneous SPAs show obvious limitations in some varying curvature interaction scenarios because of the profile mismatch of homogeneous SPAs and specific interacted objects. Herein, a stiffness preprogrammable soft pneumatic actuator (SPSPA) is proposed by discretely presetting gradient geometrical or materials distributions. Through finite element analysis and experimental validation, a mathematical model of behavior prediction of SPSPA was built to relate the geometrical parameters/materials with its morphing behaviors, making it possible to reversely obtain designed parameters. This design strategy enables conformal and efficient interaction in some curvature varying scenarios. Specifically, higher effective contact area, perimeter utilization ratio, and conformal ability can be obtained while interacting with those inhomogeneous curvature objects, for example, more than 434.7% improvement in contact area rates and 12.5% enhancement in perimeter utilization ratios toward a typical equilateral triangle object. Further, a serial of SPSPAs that have conformal grasping/interactive capability, better contact sensing behaviors were demonstrated. For example, an SPSPA and an SPSP robot were demonstrated, which showed better kinetic, kinematic characterizations and sensing capability compared with the homogeneous one while coming across varying curvature objects. Moreover, underactuated finger rehabilitation SPSPAs were demonstrated with customized profiles and coupled joint motion. This customized scheme can be potentially used in those specific-purposed, single, and repetitive application scenarios where varying curvature, conformal and efficient interaction are needed.
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