Design and fabrication of soft locomotion robots based on spatial compliant mechanisms

Abstract Soft robotics has emerged as a promising technology that holds great potential for various application areas. This is due to soft materials unique properties, including flexibility, safety, and shock absorption, among others. Despite many advancement in the field, the development of effective design methodologies and production techniques for soft robots remains a challenge. Although numerous robot prototypes have been proposed in recent years, their designs are often complex and difficult to produce. As such, there is a need for more efficient and unified design approaches that can facilitate the production of soft robots with desirable properties. In this paper, we propose a method for designing soft robots using elastic beams and spatial compliant mechanisms. The method is based on an evolutionary approach that enables the creation of designs with both high motion and force transmission ratios. Specifically, we focus on the development of locomotion mechanisms using a central linear actuator. Our approach involves the use of commonly available plastic materials and a 3D printer to manufacture the designs. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach by presenting experimental results that show successful production and real-world operation. Overall, our findings suggest that the use of elastic beams and an evolutionary approach can facilitate the creation of soft robots with desirable locomotion properties, including fast locomotion up to 3.7 body lengths per second, locomotion with a payload, and underwater locomotion. This method has the potential to enable the development of more efficient and practical soft robots for various applications.