A Humidity-Powered Soft Robot with Fast Rolling Locomotion
Lei Fu,
Weiqiang Zhao,
Jiayao Ma,
Mingyuan Yang,
Xinmeng Liu,
Lei Zhang,
Yan Chen
Affiliations
Lei Fu
School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Weiqiang Zhao
Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (MOE), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Jiayao Ma
School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Mingyuan Yang
School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Xinmeng Liu
Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (MOE), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Lei Zhang
Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (MOE), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Yan Chen
School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
A range of soft robotic systems have recently been developed that use soft, flexible materials and respond to environmental stimulus. The greatest challenge in their design is the integration of the actuator, energy sources, and body of robots while achieving fast locomotion and well-defined programmable trajectories. This work presents such a design that operates under constant conditions without the need for an externally modulated stimulus. By using a humidity-sensitive agarose film and overcoming the isotropic and random bending of the film, the robot, which we call the Hydrollbot, harnesses energy from evaporation for spontaneous and continuous fast self-rolling locomotion with a programmable trajectory in a constant-humidity environment. Moreover, the geometric parameters of the film were fine-tuned to maximize the rolling speed, and the optimised hydrollbot is capable of carrying a payload up to 100% of its own weight. The ability to self-propel fast under constant conditions with programmable trajectories will confer practical advantages to this robot in the applications for sensors, medical robots, actuation, etc.
