A team of engineers in Denmark has developed a limbless soft robot with the ability to glide over complex terrain, with a locomotion system that simulates the movement of earthworms.
The soft robot with rectilinear movement, without wheels and legs
The robot has been created by the soft robotics laboratory at the University of Southern Denmark. It has a body built with antagonistic pneumatic actuators, i.e. inflatable chambers that expand and contract rhythmically. This cyclic action, integrated with asymmetric friction supplied by its kirigami skin, allows it to move forward without the need for wheels or legs.
The kirigami skin is composed of strategic cuts in repeated patterns, giving it directional flexibility. This generates greater backward resistance than forward resistance, simulating how mushrooms function in the skin of real worms. Using this design, the robot can move in a straight line or rotate through an asymmetric inflation sequence.
The system is equipped with proximity sensors on its front side, which allow the detection of obstacles around it. Through a human-machine interface, an operator can direct its movement in real time. This responsiveness is important for applications where accuracy is vital, such as entering collapsed structures.
During laboratory testing, the robot was shown to be able to move at a speed of up to 11 millimeters per second in a straight line, and to avoid obstacles using rotational or lateral displacement maneuvers.
The robot’s soft design allows it to deform under pressure without breaking, making it especially useful in confined spaces, such as debris or piping systems. Its developers envision that it could be used for search and rescue missions, infrastructure inspection or environmental monitoring in hard-to-reach areas.
The demonstration of the functions of the soft robot. Source: SDU Soft Robotics
In addition, its modular architecture and neural pattern-based control give it a solid foundation for future improvements, such as autonomous navigation through artificial intelligence. For now, the robot is still in the experimental phase, but its capabilities establish it as one of the most advanced proposals in bio-inspired locomotion applied to real-world scenarios.
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Source and photo: SDU Soft Robotics
