Self-propelling DEAnsect soft robots gear up to swarm

News

Researchers have developed robust soft robotic insects that propel themselves with artificial muscles, an advance that could see multiple devices dubbed DEAnsect working in swarms.

The team from at EPFL's School of Engineering have developed two versions of this soft robot, which they’ve dubbed DEAnsect. The first, tethered with ultra-thin wires, is said to be very robust. It can be folded, hit with a fly swatter or trodden on without impacting its ability to move.

The second is untethered, wireless and autonomous. This model weighs under 1g and carries its battery and electronic components on its back. The machine is equipped with a microcontroller and photodiodes that allow it to recognise black and white patterns and follow any line drawn on the ground.

Optical lace gives light touch to soft robots

Motion of untethered soft robot hinges on external stimuli

DEAnsect was developed by a team at EPFL's Soft Transducers Laboratory (LMTS), working with the Integrated Actuators Laboratory (LAI) and colleagues from the University of Cergy-Pontoise, France. The research was published in Science Robotics.

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