Regulating surface traction of a soft robot through electrostatic adhesion control

摘要

This paper reports the electrostatic regulation of surface traction of a quadruped soft robot to improve its locomotion efficiency. The soft robot, containing five pneumatic channel networks (PneuNets) in different parts of its body, is actuated to achieve undulated locomotion. Electrostatic adhesion is applied to the bottom surface of each robot leg, by using a thin elastomeric adhesion pad embedded with interdigitated comb electrodes. The adhesion pad is fully compatible with the soft robot structure, and is able to adjust the level of surface traction on the robot leg during locomotion. We calibrate the adhesion force generated by the pad as a function of its size and the applied electrostatic voltage. We demonstrate the control of the moving direction and speed of the soft robot on horizontal surfaces with different frictional and electrical characteristics, by adjusting the level of electrostatic adhesion. With the electrostatic traction control, the robot can also climbing up an inclined metal surface with a low coefficient of friction, which cannot be achieved by the same robot without adhesion pads. This work illustrates the important role of surface friction on locomotion of the soft robot, and provides an efficient solution to surface traction control of soft robots.