Toward Energetically Autonomous Foraging Soft Robots
Toward Energetically Autonomous Foraging Soft Robots
A significant goal of robotics is to develop autonomous machines, capable of independent and collective operation free from human assistance. To operate with complete autonomy robots must be capable of independent movement and total energy self-sufficiency. We present the design of a soft robotic mouth and artificial stomach for aquatic robots that will allow them to feed on biomatter in their surrounding environment. The robot is powered by electrical energy generated through bacterial respiration within a microbial fuel cell (MFC) stomach, and harvested using state-of-the-art voltage step-up electronics. Through innovative exploitation of compliant, biomimetic actuation, the soft robotic feeding mechanism enables the connection of multiple MFC stomachs in series configuration in an aquatic environment, previously a significant challenge. We investigate how a similar soft robotic feeding mechanism could be driven by electroactive polymer artificial muscles from the same bioenergy supply. This work demonstrates the potential for energetically autonomous soft robotic artificial organisms and sets the stage for radically different future robots.
energy self-sufficiency, autonomous robots, bio-hybrid
186-197
Philamore, Hemma
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Ieropoulos, Ioannis
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Stinchcombe, Andrew
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Rossiter, Jonathan
64caa0df-19e0-40c8-ab69-7021de665c39
December 2016
Philamore, Hemma
d0a1cf2b-226d-4600-ae34-d220a1cc3767
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Stinchcombe, Andrew
f215f495-0b45-4233-9e5f-828fd6989e6b
Rossiter, Jonathan
64caa0df-19e0-40c8-ab69-7021de665c39
Philamore, Hemma, Ieropoulos, Ioannis, Stinchcombe, Andrew and Rossiter, Jonathan
(2016)
Toward Energetically Autonomous Foraging Soft Robots.
Soft Robotics, 3 (4), .
(doi:10.1089/soro.2016.0020).
Abstract
A significant goal of robotics is to develop autonomous machines, capable of independent and collective operation free from human assistance. To operate with complete autonomy robots must be capable of independent movement and total energy self-sufficiency. We present the design of a soft robotic mouth and artificial stomach for aquatic robots that will allow them to feed on biomatter in their surrounding environment. The robot is powered by electrical energy generated through bacterial respiration within a microbial fuel cell (MFC) stomach, and harvested using state-of-the-art voltage step-up electronics. Through innovative exploitation of compliant, biomimetic actuation, the soft robotic feeding mechanism enables the connection of multiple MFC stomachs in series configuration in an aquatic environment, previously a significant challenge. We investigate how a similar soft robotic feeding mechanism could be driven by electroactive polymer artificial muscles from the same bioenergy supply. This work demonstrates the potential for energetically autonomous soft robotic artificial organisms and sets the stage for radically different future robots.
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Published date: December 2016
Keywords:
energy self-sufficiency, autonomous robots, bio-hybrid
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 454406
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454406
ISSN: 2169-5172
PURE UUID: 816c2f85-1a16-4cff-8d01-3dde5e23d598
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Date deposited: 09 Feb 2022 17:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:10
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Contributors
Author:
Hemma Philamore
Author:
Andrew Stinchcombe
Author:
Jonathan Rossiter
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