Nonlinear dynamic modeling on multi-spherical modular soft robots

Abstract

A soft robot, which consists of multi-deformable spherical cells, is constructed. According to the deflating action and the inflating action of the spherical cells, the size and the shape of each spherical cell can be changed. Thus, the soft robot can move in a narrow complicated passage. In the paper, a modular soft robot is built. The nonlinear relationship between the inflation radius ( $$R)$$ of each cell and the inflation time ( $$t)$$ is described to control the action of the spherical cell. The nonlinear dynamic moving process is analyzed with the deflating and inflating modes of each cell. The theoretical analysis of the forward locomotion is counted. Then, two special positions are described, and the moving conditions are presented in details. Last, a simulation and an experiment of three spherical cells are shown to emulate the moving process of the soft robot. It shows that the modular soft robot consisting of multi-deformable spherical modules can move forward with the nonlinear dynamic inflating and deflating process.