Exploring Modal Switch in Metamaterial-Based Robots

Mechanical metamaterials are microscale patterned structures that are designed to have specific mechanical properties at a macro-scale that are atypical of natural materials. Robotic manipulators composed of these materials can exhibit deformation and motion capabilities that can be customized and easily fabricated. However, as of now, the motion capability of such manipulators are encoded in their physical composition and cannot be changed. This paper presents multimodal metamaterial-based robot prototypes which can switch between the behaviors found in two different metamaterials. Two such robots are explored, a bending/shearing robot and a bending/twisting robot. The robot design is described in detail, including how the robots toggle between behavior modes via mechanical actuation of a sliding rod insert. Multi-modal robots are compared to their single-mode equivalents to characterize their capabilities. The single-mode behaviors are largely preserved in the multi-modal innovations. The multi-modal prototypes also demonstrate variable rigidity. We discuss the feasibility of using robots of this design as part of a robotic surgical system.