Yang Dezhi, Feng Miao, Sun Jianing, Wei Yexun, Zou Jiang, Zhu Xiangyang, Gu Guoying
Robotics Institute and State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Meta Robotics Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Sci Adv. 2025 Jan 31;11(5):eads8734. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ads8734.
Pneumatic soft robots are promising in diverse applications while they typically require additional electronics or components for pressure control. Fusing pneumatic actuation and control capabilities into a simple soft module remains challenging. Here, we present a class of bistable fabric mechanisms (BFMs) that merge soft bistable actuators and valves for electronics-free autonomous robots. The BFMs comprise two bonding fabric chambers with embedded tubes, where the straightening of one chamber compels the other to buckle for the bistability of the structure and the switching of the tube kinking. Our BFMs can facilitate fast bending actuation (more than 1166° s), on/off and continuous pressure regulation, pneumatic logic computations, and autonomous oscillating actuation (up to 4.6 Hz). We further demonstrate the capabilities of BFMs for diverse robotic applications powered by one constant-pressure air supply: a soft gripper for dynamic grasping and a soft crawler for autonomous jumping. Our BFM development showcases unique features and huge potential in advancing entirely soft, electronics-free autonomous robots.
气动软机器人在各种应用中前景广阔，但它们通常需要额外的电子设备或组件来进行压力控制。将气动驱动和控制功能集成到一个简单的软模块中仍然具有挑战性。在此，我们展示了一类双稳态织物机构（BFM），它将软双稳态致动器和阀门结合在一起，用于无电子设备的自主机器人。BFM由两个带有嵌入式管道的粘合织物腔室组成，其中一个腔室的伸直会迫使另一个腔室弯曲，以实现结构的双稳态和管道扭结的切换。我们的BFM能够实现快速弯曲驱动（超过1166°/秒）、开/关和连续压力调节、气动逻辑计算以及自主振荡驱动（高达4.6赫兹）。我们进一步展示了BFM在由一个恒压空气供应驱动的各种机器人应用中的能力：用于动态抓取的软夹爪和用于自主跳跃的软履带式机器人。我们的BFM开发在推进完全柔软、无电子设备的自主机器人方面展现出独特的特性和巨大潜力。
