Chen Tianyu, Yang Xudong, Zhang Bojian, Li Junwei, Pan Jie, Wang Yifan
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798 Singapore.
Sci Robot. 2024 Jul 17;9(92):eadl0307. doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.adl0307.
Biological organisms often have remarkable multifunctionality through intricate structures, such as concurrent shape morphing and stiffness variation in the octopus. Soft robots, which are inspired by natural creatures, usually require the integration of separate modules to achieve these various functions. As a result, the whole structure is cumbersome, and the control system is complex, often involving multiple control loops to finish a required task. Here, inspired by the scales that cover creatures like pangolins and fish, we developed a robotic structure that can vary its stiffness and change shape simultaneously in a highly integrated, compact body. The scale-inspired layered structure (SAILS) was enabled by the inversely designed programmable surface patterns of the scales. After fabrication, SAILS was inherently soft and flexible. When sealed in an elastic envelope and subjected to negative confining pressure, it transitioned to its designated shape and concurrently became stiff. SAILS could be actuated at frequencies as high as 5 hertz and achieved an apparent bending modulus change of up to 53 times between its soft and stiff states. We further demonstrated both the versatility of SAILS by developing a soft robot that is amphibious and adaptive and tunable landing systems for drones with the capacity to accommodate different loads.
生物有机体常常通过复杂的结构展现出卓越的多功能性，比如章鱼能同时改变形状和刚度。受自然生物启发的软体机器人通常需要整合多个独立模块才能实现这些多样的功能。因此，整体结构笨重，控制系统复杂，完成一项所需任务常常涉及多个控制回路。在此，受穿山甲和鱼类等生物体表鳞片的启发，我们研发出一种机器人结构，它能在高度集成的紧凑机身中同时改变刚度和形状。受鳞片启发的分层结构（SAILS）由经反向设计的可编程鳞片表面图案实现。制造完成后，SAILS本质上柔软且灵活。当密封在弹性外壳中并受到负向围压时，它会转变为指定形状并同时变硬。SAILS能以高达5赫兹的频率驱动，在软态和硬态之间实现高达53倍的表观弯曲模量变化。我们还通过开发一种水陆两栖且自适应的软体机器人以及具有承载不同载荷能力的无人机可调着陆系统，进一步展示了SAILS的多功能性。
