8. Soft robotics¶
Research¶
Soft robotics is an emerging field with the premise that the conventional robotics mechanism can be developed in a soft alternative making them impact resistant, to high and low temperatures, susceptible to extreme mechanical deformations; with a simple manufacture and inexpensive in comparison to rigid robots.
Nonetheless they have some disadvantages, including low actuation forces, difficultly to control, nonlinear operating mechanics, this things make a little unpredictable their behavior. Despite these challenges inflatable soft robotics has been proven to be reliable in industrial pick-and place operations, mostly because the grippers can contract and wrap around the objects, due their inherent flexibility.
@mitopenlearning 🤖 Robots don’t have to be made of metal. @mit researchers are creating robots with soft 3D-printed materials. Imagine machines that can sense and interact with the world just like we do. Discover more on MIT Learn: learn.mit.edu #Robots #SoftRobotics #Robotics #FutureTech #ThisIsMIT ♬ original sound - MIT Open Learning
References & Inspiration¶
Photos form: PNAS.org 2025
Fluid-driven origami are actuators that mimic the nature of muscles. They are an alternative of the traditional rigid robots and motors, often developed as rapid designs with low-cost fabrication, customizing the performance by doing little changes. This type of soft robots promise a safer and powerful actuation un contrast to conventional machines, consisting only in a compressible skeleton, and a flexible skin, powered by a fluid medium. They can be programed to achieve multiaxial motions, counting contraction, bending, and torsion.
Photos from: SOSOlimited 2025
“It’s a kinetic sculpture made up of hundreds of small, origami forms that shrink and expand, appear and disappear, to produce large-scale shapes that are simultaneously spellbinding and transient.”
Kinetic sculpture that simulates the movement of a flock of birds. The sculpture creates perpetually evolving movements as smaller groups of virtual birds coalesce into a single entity, soaring through the atrium in fluid collaboration. At quarter hours, the birds gather and perform special choreographed gestures across the sculpture.
Tools¶
Process and workflow¶
VINYL¶
To start this week's experimentation, I began by doing some soft robots using vinyl and cooking paper.
I started designing in Rhinoceros both the texture that goes in between the vinyl and creates the possibility to inflate and the vinyl. I wanted to make more like a texture and see how much definition this kind of soft robots have. I mirrored the trace so that the sticky part would coincide and finally exported them as DXF.
Then I opened the file in Inkscape, first I modify the properties of the file: selected the units in which I was working and adjusted the dimensions of the working area so that it was a little bit bigger that the pieces I was going to print. Then I imported my document, positioned the silhouette in the working area and finally exported it to the plotter.
Plotter¶
I positioned the vinyl with the hard plastic facing downwards, adjusted the locks and lowered the handles. The values that I used where provided by my instructors since they have made different test to get to the best settings to cut.
To cut the part of cooking paper I printed it to have as reference, collocate the cooking paper over and cut it.
To make sure that all the parts stayed where I wanted them over the vinyl, I use a little bit of water to make them stick and then cover it with the other part.
Heat press¶
To seal the inflatables, I used a heat press machine, stablished the time (15s) and the temperature (150 C°), and place the pieces in between the kraft paper.
RESULTS¶
Silicone¶
I wanted to try to do a gripper, so I made two different limbs to understand how the proportions and shapes mattered, and then decide how to do the complete gripper.
I trace in rhinocenteros the molds to make them with silicone. To optimize both time and material, I included at the base of the molds the part to then cover and complete them. I exported them as stl, and 3d printed them using PLA.
We used the silicone Eco flex 00-30:
To get the flexibility I wanted I use both components in a 1 to 1 ratio. Then I pour the mixture in the molds and immediately tapped them to eliminate as much bubbles as I could.
Once it solidify, I took out the pieces and then filled the part at the bottom, after a few minutes I place the pieces over it so that it will solidify joining both parts.
RESULTS¶
3D models¶
Origami Gripper¶
Still wanting to develop a gripper, but then with the idea of creating it, rather than doing something I knew would worked because it have been replicated and confirmed that it does work.. I researched for lots of ideas, some worked by suction, others by traction. So, understanding this I started to look for inspiration. I decided to try and do it with and origami base, discovering that there is this thing call “kinetic origami”, which I thought could be a path, since I could make it work kind of like the vinyl robots works, but it didn't completely convince me. After a lot of thinking I remembered some origamis and paper things that I used to do when little and that's when the idea clicked. This flexagon, normally only used to see how it can “change color”, I realize that could also be used a gripper, since when its “transforms”, it makes an enveloping movement. The only thing that I needed was to find a way of making it twist when applying a fluid and it could pick up stuff.
They are commonly used to create these kinds of infinite effects:
@ma.mike.mg Flexagono✨ #art #origami #diy #pintura #arte #yosoycreador #collage ♬ Nada Y Nadie - Sen Senra
I replicated a template of the flexagon I founded in internet in Rhinoceros 3D.
To be able to fold it like paper, I leave the space of 1mm in between all the pieces, also, to facilitate the building process I gave the tabs different thickness, making them thinner than the main parts.
I exported the file as stl and follow the same steps of printing on fabric as the week of computational couture
