Soft robots offer many advantages over traditional robots. However, they still face many challenges. A new study unveils a soft-limbed robotic seal that mimics the terrestrial movement of pinnipeds.
by studying the locomotion of pinnipeds. Pinnipeds are a group of marine mammals, such as sea lions and seals, which use flippers for movement.Soft-limbed robots can perform several tasks that traditional robots can't, such as maneuvering through narrow spaces and handling delicate objects. Additionally, they are more adaptable to changing environments as they can tolerate falls which makes them safer to work with around humans.
Due to these advantages, they have several potential applications, such as surveillance, search and rescue, and deep-sea or planetary exploration. However, the current technology has many drawbacks, such as restricted payload, low limb dexterity, minimal gait trajectories, and limited degrees of freedom.Pinnipeds served as an inpiration to their soft-limbed robot designThe researchers were motivated by these drawbacks to build a soft-limbed robot inspired by the movements of pinnipeds.
The limbs of the robot seal can be filled with liquid to make them stiff and then drained to make them more flexible. This is how it moves and changes directions. The entire structure is covered by a strong shell and backbone to protect it.The exact movements of the soft robot can be seen in this video shared by the study's first author Dimuthu D. K. Arachchige.
As can be seen, the soft-limbed robot shows many different gaits, including forward and backward crawling, leftward and rightward crawling & turning, turning in place , and aggressive turning in both directions. This wide range of movements allows it to jump over uneven terrain and jump over obstacles, which traditional robots based on four-legged creatures can't do. The researchers plan to work on dynamic gaits in the future.Legged locomotion is a highly promising but under-researched subfield within the field of soft robotics. The compliant limbs of soft-limbed robots offer numerous benefits, including the ability to regulate impacts, tolerate falls, and navigate through tight spaces.
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