Magnetic assembly of soft robots with hard components

Sen W. Kwok, Stephen A. Morin, Bobak Mosadegh, Ju Hee So, Robert F. Shepherd, Ramses V. Martinez, Barbara Smith, Felice C. Simeone, Adam A. Stokes, George M. Whitesides

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

124 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper describes the modular magnetic assembly of reconfigurable, pneumatically actuated robots composed of soft and hard components and materials. The soft components of these hybrid robots are actuators fabricated from silicone elastomers using soft lithography, and the hard components are acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) structures made using 3D printing. Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) ring magnets are embedded in these components to make and maintain the connections between components. The reversibility of these magnetic connections allows the rapid reconfiguration of these robots using components made of different materials (soft and hard) that also have different sizes, structures, and functions; in addition, it accelerates the testing of new designs, the exploration of new capabilities, and the repair or replacement of damaged parts. This method of assembling soft actuators to build soft machines addresses some limitations associated with using soft lithography for the direct molding of complex 3D pneumatic networks. Combining the self-aligning property of magnets with pneumatic control makes it possible for a teleoperator to modify the structures and capabilities of these robots readily in response to the requirements of different tasks.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2180-2187
Number of pages8
JournalAdvanced Functional Materials
Volume24
Issue number15
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 16 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • hybrids
  • magnetic assembly
  • reconfigurable
  • soft machines
  • soft robots

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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