Motion of untethered soft robot hinges on external stimuli

The soft robotic systems developed at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Caltech have been created with 3D printing and inspiration from origami. The research is published in Science Robotics.

"The ability to integrate active materials within 3D-printed objects enables the design and fabrication of entirely new classes of soft robotic matter," said Jennifer A. Lewis, the Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at SEAS and co-lead author of the study.

Harvard team embeds touch sensitivity into soft robotics

Through sequential folds, origami can encode multiple shapes and functionalities in a single structure. Using liquid crystal elastomers that change shape when exposed to heat, the research team 3D-printed two types of soft hinges that fold at different temperatures and can be programmed to fold in a specific order.

"With our method of 3D printing active hinges, we have full programmability over temperature response, the amount of torque the hinges can exert, their bending angle, and fold orientation. Our fabrication method facilitates integrating these active components with other materials," said Arda Kotikian, a graduate student at SEAS and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and co-first author of the paper.