3D-printed soft robot runs without electronics
The robot at UC San Diego is powered by compressed air. It is printed in one go from soft filament using a 3D printer.
(Image: UC San Diego)
Scientists at the Bioinspired Robotics Laboratory at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) have developed a robot that can be printed directly in one go using a 3D printer and can run without any additional electronics. The researchers use compressed air from a pressurized gas cartridge to power the robot.
The robot from the 3D printer costs around 20 US dollars. Commercially available filament is used. The printing is done quickly, as the researchers explain in the study "Monolithic Desktop Digital Fabrication of Autonomous Walking Robots", which was published in Advanced Intelligent Systems.
For 3D printing, the researchers used soft filament to print the body, artificial muscles and control system together in a single process, without having to add electronics to coordinate the walking movements.
Pneumatic drive
The robot has six legs. It is controlled by a pneumatic oscillating circuit that activates soft actuators that move the legs. They are coordinated in such a way that a constant air pressure moves three pairs of legs at a time. The robot can walk in a straight line because the legs can each move in four degrees of freedom: up and down, forwards and backwards.
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The robot can therefore walk on different surfaces. This works autonomously with an air pressure cartridge or stationary via an air pressure system that provides a constant pressure. The robot even works in water, as the video from the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego shows.
The researchers let the robot run continuously in a laboratory for three days. It can be used anywhere where electronics cannot function safely, for example in heavily contaminated areas. It can also be used in disasters, rescue and space missions, the scientists explain.
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However, the robot still has room for improvement. In future, the researchers want to store the compressed gas directly in the robot. They are also looking for ways to use recyclable and biodegradable material for 3D printing in order to make the robot environmentally friendly. However, the idea of a walking robot powered by compressed air is not entirely new: Freiburg scientists had already demonstrated a similar four-legged robot in 2024.
(olb)
