Design and fabrication of a caterpillar-inspired soft robot by 3D print method
Author:
Harry Shi ’25Co-Authors:
Faculty Mentor(s):
William Scott, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source:
Department of Mechanical EngineeringAbstract
Soft crawling robots can potentially access locations that are unreachable by humans and traditional rigid robots. And their delicate body parts prevent them from damaging the environment and themselves when falling. In this case, the soft crawling robots play a crucial role in conducting the missions like observing, monitoring, and even rescuing. During the summer, we developed a soft robot inspired by the crawling mechanisms used by the caterpillars. The robot is constructed by 3D printed parts and actuated by motors and strings attached to it. The uniformity between each segment makes modifying and manufacturing the robot easy. And its simple structure provides it the feasibility to adapt to and move in the complex 3D environment. Experimental results show that the 3D print soft parts can store and release elastic energy, and the designed structure allows the robot to mimic the motion of the caterpillars.