These "4D-Printed" Soft Robots Climb Stairs, Race — and Carry 40 Times Their Own Weight

Driven by heat, these tiny robots pack a surprising punch — and could one day carry out jobs where larger robots fear to tread.

Gareth Halfacree
3 years agoRobotics / 3D Printing

Researchers at Tianjin University have showcased "4D-printed" soft robots capable of rolling, racing, exploring their environment — and even of carrying payloads of 40 times their own weight.

The soft robot demonstrated by the team is created as a flat sheet of 3D-printed liquid-crystal elastomer, which gains its claimed fourth dimension through the application of heat — causing it to roll up into a spring-like "tubule." The hot surface introduces a strain in the material that causes it to roll — with enough driving force to carry a load 40 times its own weight.

"Like an insect with antennae, the robot can surmount a small obstacle. But when the obstacle is too high, it will turn back," says senior author Wei Feng of the tube-like robots. "The whole process is spontaneous without human interference or control."

The prototypes were shown off climbing a 20 degree incline, carrying the relatively hefty payloads, changing directions when encountering an obstacle, climbing stairs, and even racing each other — with longer robots proving faster than their smaller stablemates.

The researchers believe the robots could be used to perform various tasks in confined spaces, like pipes, or even where traditional robotics would overheat — operating on surfaces of up to 200°C (around 392°F.)

The team's work has been published in the journal Matter under closed-access terms.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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