(Digital Presentation) Soft Robot for Heat Source Detection Using Shape Memory Gel

Abstract

Currently, there are Collaborative robots (cobots) that use multiple robots to solve a single, simple task, such as finding survivors in rubble or monitoring the environment during a disaster. [1] Such robots are moved by vibration motors and communicate with nearby robots via infrared communication for control.In this study, we develop a soft robot that can search for heat sources and solve simple tasks using only a simple structure without any sensors. This soft robot can move by simply vibrating and has a mechanism to switch its motion mode when the temperature of the ground surface or the air changes. The robot is equipped with shape-memory gel [1], which softens and increases the friction rate as the temperature rises, and hardens and decreases the friction rate as the temperature decreases. The shape-memory gel has the property of remaining stationary when the temperature on the ground or in the air rises, and operating when it falls. In our experiments, we measured the absorption of vibration, friction rate, and tackiness in order to verify the effectiveness of controlling the motion of the shape memory gel by temperature. It was confirmed that the vibration was absorbed when the shape memory gel became warm and soft. In the measurement of friction rate and tackiness by temperature, it was confirmed that both friction rate and tackiness increased by increasing the temperature. As a result, the effectiveness of the shape-memory gel was confirmed by temperature. Next, we fabricated a soft robot as shown in Fig. 1 and conducted experiments to see if its motion changed depending on temperature. In the future, we will conduct experiments to see if the soft robot can be used to solve simple tasks such as transporting plants to sunlight.Reference:[1] Michael Rubenstein, Christian Ahler, Radhika Nagpal Kilobot, “A low cost scalable robot system for collective behaviors” 2012 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC)https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6224638[2] Ahmed, Aamir, Sandeep Arya, Vinay Gupta, Hidemitsu Furukawa, and Ajit Khosla. "4D printing: Fundamentals, materials, applications and challenges." Polymer (2021): 123926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2021.123926 Figure 1