Kavli Affiliate: Chiara Daraio
| First 5 Authors: Manas Bhargava, Manas Bhargava, , ,
| Summary:
Natural organisms utilize distributed actuation through their musculoskeletal
systems to adapt their gait for traversing diverse terrains or to morph their
bodies for varied tasks. A longstanding challenge in robotics is to emulate
this capability of natural organisms, which has motivated the development of
numerous soft robotic systems. However, such systems are generally optimized
for a single functionality, lack the ability to change form or function on
demand, or remain tethered to bulky control systems. To address these
limitations, we present a framework for designing and controlling robots that
utilize distributed actuation. We propose a novel building block that
integrates 3D-printed bones with liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) muscles as
lightweight actuators, enabling the modular assembly of musculoskeletal robots.
We developed LCE rods that contract in response to infrared radiation, thereby
providing localized, untethered control over the distributed skeletal network
and producing global deformations of the robot. To fully capitalize on the
extensive design space, we introduce two computational tools: one for
optimizing the robot’s skeletal graph to achieve multiple target deformations,
and another for co-optimizing skeletal designs and control gaits to realize
desired locomotion. We validate our framework by constructing several robots
that demonstrate complex shape morphing, diverse control schemes, and
environmental adaptability. Our system integrates advances in modular material
building, untethered and distributed control, and computational design to
introduce a new generation of robots that brings us closer to the capabilities
of living organisms.
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