ETNew Hybrid Robot Has Soft ‘Skin’ But Hard ‘Guts’

Roboticists created this hybrid robot that has a soft exterior but a hard interior. Credit： Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of E ngineering and Applied Sciences View full size image

It may seem soft and squishy to the touch， but a new robot is tough on the inside and ready to pounce， researchers say.

The 3D-printed bot has hard insides but a soft exterior， and this blend of materials makes it much better at explosion-powered jumps than droids that are either completely hard or completely soft， according to a new study.

Such leaping robots could one day come in handy in harsh environments too dangerous for humans， particularly because the bots are capable of surviving hard falls and other unforeseen circumstances， scientists added. ［The 6 Strangest Robots Ever Created］

“One wild potential application would be in space — on the moon or Mars or other planets，” said study co-lead author Nicholas Bartlett， a roboticist at Harvard University. “These are unpredictable environments， and a soft robot that can bend and adapt to such environments and put up with a lot of punishment could be really useful. You could also think of more practical applications， such as search-and-rescue missions in disaster scenarios such as collapsed buildings， where a soft robot could go where no wheeled robot could navigate.”

Hard vs. soft

Conventional robots are typically rigid creations. Although they can be fast， precise and strong， this rigidity makes them vulnerable to harm from bumps， scrapes， twists and falls， and also prevents them from being able to wriggle past obstacles.

Increasingly， researchers are developing robots made from soft， elastic plastic and rubber， inspired by worms and starfish. These soft robots are resistant to many kinds of damage， and are able to overcome obstacles that can impede hard robots. But， their floppy nature can make them slow， weak and clumsy. Moreover， they often are not completely soft， since they require such hard components as motors， pumps， batteries and sensors， which also tend to be fragile.

Now， scientists have created a robot made up of both hard and soft parts that combines the best of both types. The idea of blending soft and hard materials in a robot‘s body came from nature， Bartlett said.

“The octopus has an almost entirely soft body， but a rigid beak， and when you look at the interface between the body and the beak， it’s not an abrupt transition， but a gradual shift between hard and soft，” Bartlett told Live Science. “Evolution has had a head start on us for many millions of years — why not take tried-and-tested designs and use them for inspiration with our machines？”

The researchers created the new robot using 3D printing， which creates items by layering materials such as rubber and plastic， just as ordinary printers lay down ink. However， 3D printers can lay flat layers on top of each other to build 3D objects. The droid weighed about 2.1 lbs. （965 grams）。 ［The 10 Weirdest Things Created By 3D Printing］

Soft robots typically move their limbs by using air compressors that force bursts of air in and out of a series of pneumatic channels running through their appendages. Recently， the researchers pioneered a way to use explosive force to propel rubbery bots more quickly.

Jumping machine

The robot consists of a soft， three-legged body that absorbs impacts and a core that houses key components such as a battery， oxygen cartridge， butane cell， air compressor and a combustion chamber. The robot‘s core is made of two nested hemispheres — the bottom hemisphere is essentially a soft belly， while the top hemisphere is made of nine different layers of material， ranging from highly flexible to fully rigid， with the hardest layer a thousand times stiffer than the softest one.

The combustion-powered robot has three pneumatic legs and a belly that can flex. To move， the robot first inflates its pneumatic legs to tilt its body in the direction it wants to go. It then ignites a mix of oxygen and butane inside its combustion chamber， forcing its belly to flex outward， which catapults the robot into the air. This autonomous， untethered bot is capable of completing more than 30 consecutive jumps.

The robot is a powerful jumper. In tests， it reached a height of 2.5 feet （0.75 meters） in vertical leaps， which is about six times its body height. For lateral jumps， the robot moved 0.5 feet （0.15 m）， which is roughly half its body width， the researchers said.

Although this hybrid robot could only jump about a quarter of the height that a rigid counterpart could， it was much better at withstanding the impact of landings， the researchers said. In one test， the body of the rigid robot shattered upon landing， surviving a total of just five jumps; in contrast， a hybrid robot that was dropped from the maximum height the rigid robot reached was able to survive 35 falls， they added.

The researchers also suggest the hybrid robot is significantly better at surviving landings than a soft robot. They calculated that the bodies of the all-soft robots absorbed less than three-quarters of the shock of impact that the hybrid robots did.

“We believe that bringing together soft and rigid materials will help create a new generation of fast， agile robots that are more robust and adaptable than their predecessors and can safely work side by side with humans，” study co-lead author Michael Tolley， a roboticist at the University of California， San Diego， said in a statement.

自動翻譯僅供參考

新型混合機器人有著具有柔韌性的皮膚

ETNew混合型機器人具有軟’皮膚‘，但很難“Guts’

機器人專家創造了這個混合型的機器人，有一個柔軟的外表，但硬室內。圖片來源：威斯研究所生物啟發工程和E ngineering哈佛大學約翰·保爾森A.學校與應用科學查看原圖

它可能看起來柔軟，濕軟的觸感，而是一個新的機器人是艱難的在里面，隨時準備撲向，研究人員說。

的3D打印機器人具有堅硬的內心卻柔軟的外表，而這種混合材料使得它更好的防爆供電跳得比機器人是要么完全硬或軟的完全根據一項新的研究。

這樣的跳躍機器人有朝一日能派上用場的惡劣環境對人類太危險了，特別是因為機器人是能夠經受艱苦摔傷等意外情況，科學家補充說。 ［6奇怪的機器人有史以來The 6 Strangest Robots Ever Created在月球或火星或其他的星球， 研究共同第一作者尼古拉斯·巴特利特，一個機器人專家在哈佛大學。 這些都是不可預知的環境，和柔軟的機器人，可以彎曲并適應這樣的環境，忍受了很多的懲罰可能是非常有用的。你也可以想到的更實際的應用，如搜索和救援任務的災難場景，如倒塌的建筑物，其中，軟機器人可以去的地方沒有輪式機器人可以瀏覽和

硬與軟

傳統的機器人通常是剛性的創造物。雖然它們可以快速、精確和堅固，但這種剛性使它們容易受到顛簸、擦傷、扭曲和跌落的傷害，同時也阻止它們蠕動越過障礙物。

越來越多的研究人員正在開發機器人制成的柔軟，彈性塑料和橡膠，靈感來自蠕蟲和海星。這些軟機器人耐許多種破壞，并能夠克服，可以阻礙硬機器人障礙。但是，他們的軟盤性質可以讓他們緩慢，無力和笨拙。此外，它們往往是不完全柔軟，因為它們需要這種硬組件作為電機，泵，電池和傳感器，它們也往往是脆弱。

現在，科學家們已經創建由硬軟兩種部件，它結合了一個機器人最好的兩個類型。在機器人的身體融合軟，硬質材料的想法來自大自然，巴特利特說。

u0026 章魚有一個幾乎完全柔軟的身體，但剛性的嘴，當你看到身體和嘴之間的接口，它不是一個突然的轉變，但之間的剛柔并濟， QUOT逐漸轉移;巴特利特告訴現場科學。 進化已經有一個良好的開端對我們的數百萬年 mdash;為什么不嘗試和測試的設計和使用他們的靈感與我們的機器 ？

研究人員利用3D打印，通過分層的材料，如橡膠，塑料創建項目創造了新的機器人，就像普通的打印機放下墨水。然而，三維打印機可以躺在彼此的頂部平坦的層來構建3D對象。該機器人重達約2.1磅（965克）。 ［創自3D打印10個最古怪的事情The 10 Weirdest Things Created By 3D Printing最近，研究人員首創了一種使用爆發力推動橡膠狀機器人更快地。

跳機

該機器人包括吸收沖擊的軟，三腳體和容納關鍵部件，如一個電池芯的，氧盒，丁烷細胞，空氣壓縮機和燃燒室。機器人的核心是由兩個嵌套的半球 mdash;底部半球本質上是一種柔軟的腹部，而頂部半球是由材料的九個不同的層次，范圍從高度的靈活性，完全剛性，從最難層比最軟的1 。

燃燒為動力的機器人更嚴厲的一千倍有三個氣動腿，腹，可以彎曲。要移動，機器人首先膨脹的氣動腿傾斜它的身體在它想要去的方向。然后點燃氧氣和丁烷的燃燒室內的混合，迫使其肚子向外彎曲，其中彈射機器人到空氣中。這種自主的，不受限制的機器人能夠完成連續超過30跳。

機械手是一個功能強大的跳線。在測試中，它達到了2.5英尺（0.75米）在垂直的跨越，這是約六倍體高度的高度。對于橫向跳躍，機器人移動0.5英尺（0.15米），這是大約一半的車身寬度，研究人員說。

雖然這種混合的機器人只能跳一下高度的四分之一剛性對應可能，這是多少在承受著陸的沖擊更好的，研究人員說。在一次試驗中，剛性機器人的本體粉碎后著陸，一共只有五跳存活;與此相反，混合機器人，從最大高度剛性機器人達到下降是能存活35瀑布，它們加入。

研究人員還提出了混合動力機器人是顯著更好在存活著陸比軟機器人。他們計算出所有的軟機器人的身體吸收不到四分之三的影響，混合機器人做。

“我們相信，將柔軟和堅硬的材料結合起來，將有助于創造出一種新的快速、靈活的機器人，它們比前人更健壯和適應性強，并且可以安全地與人類并肩工作?！甭摵鲜紫芯繂T、大學機器人學家Michael Tolley說。加利福尼亞，圣地亞哥，在一份聲明中說。.