Is this a glimpse at the future of robotics? 😊
"While there are many potential uses for soft-bodied robots, the things are still typically only built in small experimental batches. Scottish scientists are out to change that, with a mass-production-capable soft bot that is 3D-printed in a single piece which then walks off of the print bed. ..."
"... Once printed, the palm-sized devices are connected to a compressed air supply before walking out of the machine on which they were made. ...
Building and operating the new system – known as the Flex Printer – requires little prior knowledge, with first-time users able to assemble it and begin making robots in just a few days, the team says.
They have made their designs publicly available to broaden access to soft robotic technologies and to help foster collaboration and improvements to the system. ..."
"The bigger picture
Soft robotics holds transformative potential for healthcare, manufacturing, and human-machine interactions, but progress in research and toward reaching commercial goals is limited by the lack of standardized, scalable fabrication methods. Our open-source flex printer platform addresses this gap, enabling rapid, reliable production of ultra-flexible soft robots with embedded fluidic logic. ... We demonstrate the capability of this technique by showcasing a fully 3D-printed soft robot, which has a bill of materials of 1 and embedded/embodied control and can walk out of the machine that made it.
Highlights
• Introduces flex printer: a low-cost, open-source platform for making soft robots
• Upside-down printing expands shapes and lets robots walk off the bed after printing ...
Summary
Soft machines are poised to deliver significant real-world impact, with soft robotics emerging as a key sub-discipline. ... Here, we present the flex printer, an open-source, low-cost platform that reliably prints ultra-flexible soft robots with embedded fluidic logic using an innovative upside-down orientation, greatly expanding printable geometries. This approach enables robots to autonomously walk off the print bed immediately after fabrication, marking a significant advance in the field. ... Through our open-source approach, we aim to lower technical and financial barriers. ..."
World first soft robots walk off machine that makes them (original news release) "Scientists have created the first soft robots that can walk straight out of the machines that make them."
Graphical abstract
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