Sidewinder‐Inspired Self‐Adjusting, Lateral‐Rolling Soft Robots for Autonomous Terrain Exploration

Abstract Helical structures of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) hold promise in soft robotics for self‐regulated rolling motions. The understanding of their motion paths and potentials for terrain exploration remains limited. This study introduces a self‐adjusting, lateral‐rolling soft robot inspire...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Young Been Kim, Shu Yang, Dae Seok Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-04-01
Series:Advanced Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202308350
Description
Summary:Abstract Helical structures of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) hold promise in soft robotics for self‐regulated rolling motions. The understanding of their motion paths and potentials for terrain exploration remains limited. This study introduces a self‐adjusting, lateral‐rolling soft robot inspired by sidewinder snakes. The spring‐like LCE helical filaments (HFs) autonomously respond to thermal cues, demonstrating dynamic and sustainable locomotion with adaptive rolling along non‐linear paths. By fine‐tuning the diameter, pitch, and modulus of the LCE HFs, and the environmental temperature, the movements of the LCE HFs, allowing for exploration of diverse terrains over a 600 cm2 area within a few minutes, can be programmed. LCE HFs are showcased to navigate through over nine obstacles, including maze escaping, terrain exploration, target hunting, and successfully surmounting staircases through adaptable rolling.
ISSN:2198-3844