Integrating Autonomy into Bioinspired Soft Robot – the Bionic Turtle Walker

Abstract

Drawing inspiration from living nature for soft robots enables scientist to develop bioinspired systems with more efficient motion and control schemes in comparison to classical robotic system. Because of their inherent compliance due to bodies from flexible materials are soft robots ideal for human machine interaction. With novel electronic free pneumatic logic control systems these robots can be built entirely soft and cope with changing or extreme environments, in which classical electronic robots would fail. Such electronic free control systems allow the control to be integrated directly into the body of the soft robot. Widely still lacking are feedback systems enabling the robot to change its behavior in response to environmental cues. In study we highlight an advanced integrated pneumatic control system that coupled with a soft pneumatic sensor is able to change the walking behavior of our turtle walker. Our novel bioinspired soft robot with an integrated pneumatic logic control system capable of computing sensory inputs marks the first step towards integrating autonomy into electronic free soft robots.