Multimodal Soft Robot for Complex Environments Using Bionic Omnidirectional Bending Actuator

Abstract

Soft robots have the characteristics of good adaptability to an environment. But at present, most soft robots only complete a single specific task, and as a result, their ability to adapt to complex environments is limited. In order to solve the weak ability of soft robots to adapt to complex and diverse environments, this paper presents a new bionic omnidirectional bending actuator (BOBA) inspired by leeches, caterpillars, and other mollusks. BOBA has less radial expansion, fast response, good flexibility, and omnidirectional bending. Using modular methods, it can be quickly assembled into a soft robot with a variety of motion modes. Experiments show the multimodal soft robot can climb vertical walls, transition from one surface to another, climb stairs, leap obstacles, cross narrow pipes, and move with heavy objects. This greatly improves the ability of soft robots to adapt to complex and diverse environments.