Most Soft robots need electronic components like circuit boards, valves, and pumps to function. Those components are quite heavy and expensive and have to be attached o the machines outside the body. Now, engineers from the University of California San Diego have developed a four-legged soft robot that doesn’t need any of those to work.
Their soft robot has an onboard system of pneumatic circuits, which are made up of tubes and soft valves, and do not require any electronic component at all. The pneumatic system only needs a constant source of pressurized air to move and power the robot.
“With our approach, you could make a very complex robotic brain. Our focus here was to make the simplest air-powered nervous system needed to control walking.”
The team believes this project is a step towards full-autonomous electronics-free robots. This technology could be used to create machines that can operate in environments where electronics can’t function, including MRIs and mine shafts. For now, the engineers are looking to improve the way the robot moves so it can move on natural terrains and uneven surfaces.
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