Kirigami skins make a simple soft actuator crawl

Ahmad Rafsanjani; Yuerou Zhang; Bangyuan Liu; Shmuel M. Rubinstein; Katia Bertoldi

doi:10.1126/scirobotics.aar7555

Kirigami skins make a simple soft actuator crawl

Ahmad Rafsanjani, Yuerou Zhang, Bangyuan Liu, Shmuel M. Rubinstein, Katia Bertoldi^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

340 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bioinspired soft machines made of highly deformable materials are enabling a variety of innovative applications, yet their locomotion typically requires several actuators that are independently activated. We harnessed kirigami principles to significantly enhance the crawling capability of a soft actuator. We designed highly stretchable kirigami surfaces in which mechanical instabilities induce a transformation from flat sheets to 3D-textured surfaces akin to the scaled skin of snakes. First, we showed that this transformation was accompanied by a dramatic change in the frictional properties of the surfaces. Then, we demonstrated that, when wrapped around an extending soft actuator, the buckling-induced directional frictional properties of these surfaces enabled the system to efficiently crawl.

Original language	American English
Article number	eaar7555
Journal	Science Robotics
Volume	3
Issue number	15
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.aar7555
State	Published - 21 Feb 2018
Externally published	Yes

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Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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abstract = "Bioinspired soft machines made of highly deformable materials are enabling a variety of innovative applications, yet their locomotion typically requires several actuators that are independently activated. We harnessed kirigami principles to significantly enhance the crawling capability of a soft actuator. We designed highly stretchable kirigami surfaces in which mechanical instabilities induce a transformation from flat sheets to 3D-textured surfaces akin to the scaled skin of snakes. First, we showed that this transformation was accompanied by a dramatic change in the frictional properties of the surfaces. Then, we demonstrated that, when wrapped around an extending soft actuator, the buckling-induced directional frictional properties of these surfaces enabled the system to efficiently crawl.",

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AU - Liu, Bangyuan

AU - Rubinstein, Shmuel M.

AU - Bertoldi, Katia

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AB - Bioinspired soft machines made of highly deformable materials are enabling a variety of innovative applications, yet their locomotion typically requires several actuators that are independently activated. We harnessed kirigami principles to significantly enhance the crawling capability of a soft actuator. We designed highly stretchable kirigami surfaces in which mechanical instabilities induce a transformation from flat sheets to 3D-textured surfaces akin to the scaled skin of snakes. First, we showed that this transformation was accompanied by a dramatic change in the frictional properties of the surfaces. Then, we demonstrated that, when wrapped around an extending soft actuator, the buckling-induced directional frictional properties of these surfaces enabled the system to efficiently crawl.

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Kirigami skins make a simple soft actuator crawl

Abstract

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