A plant-inspired robot with soft differential bending capabilities

被引:61
作者
Sadeghi, A. [1 ]
Mondini, A. [1 ]
Del Dottore, E. [1 ,2 ]
Mattoli, V. [1 ]
Beccai, L. [1 ]
Taccola, S. [1 ]
Lucarotti, C. [1 ,2 ]
Totaro, M. [1 ]
Mazzolai, B. [1 ]
机构
[1] IIT, Ctr MicrobioRobot, I-56025 Pisa, Italy
[2] Scuola Supperiore St Anna, BioRobot Inst, I-56025 Pisa, Italy
关键词
bio-inspired behaviour; growing robot; plant-inspired robot; soft actuators; soft robots; ROOT APEX; SYSTEM; FORCE;
D O I
10.1088/1748-3190/12/1/015001
中图分类号
T [工业技术];
学科分类号
08 ;
摘要
We present the design and development of a plant-inspired robot, named Plantoid, with sensorized robotic roots. Natural roots have a multi-sensing capability and show a soft bending behaviour to follow or escape from various environmental parameters (i.e., tropisms). Analogously, we implement soft bending capabilities in our robotic roots by designing and integrating soft spring-based actuation (SSBA) systems using helical springs to transmit the motor power in a compliant manner. Each robotic tip integrates four different sensors, including customised flexible touch and innovative humidity sensors together with commercial gravity and temperature sensors. We show how the embedded sensing capabilities together with a root-inspired control algorithm lead to the implementation of tropic behaviours. Future applications for such plant-inspired technologies include soil monitoring and exploration, useful for agriculture and environmental fields.
引用
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页数:14
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