Author: edeng1@andrew.cmu.edu

Project Objectives: grubo is a set of soft pneumatic actuators compatible with the Lego Technic system. The kit consists of expandable silicone air chambers, Lego-compatible connector pieces, and tubing and syringes to inflate the air chambers. Using the grubo pieces, builders can expand the functionality of their Lego creations with soft pneumatic actuation. Creative Design
Continue reading grubo: a modular pneumatics set compatible with Legos

Four Week Plan Week Goals 4/12 1. Acquiring wax 4/16 1. Have a working bistable connection 4/23 1. SLA printing connector piece2. Getting a wax mold to work 4/30 1. Tuning the molds to get the desired motion 5/7 1. Tying up loose ends2. Final Documentation ABS Lego parts: Trial One Our printed Lego parts
Continue reading 4/12 Sebastian and Elena

This past week we have been established two different work flows: Elena has been working on the connection of the silicone piece to the Legos/tubes, while Sebastian has been continuing our work on the silicone parts. The Lego/tube/silicone connector progress: We have modeled three parts (to accommodate for the FDM printers we will be using
Continue reading 4/7 Elena & Sebastian Updates

Over the weekend, we met up to create a new model to send to the Stratasys printer. We determined that we wanted the second model we made to lengthen and developed an accordion-inspired air chamber. We also adapted our previous bending block to be at a smaller scale and are testing it out on Sebastian’s
Continue reading 3/29 Sebastian and Elena Update

We each made attempts at creating molds for silicone inflatables. We printed these molds and attempted to cast silicone in them. We also attempted to create a mold by hand from plasticine and cardboard. All of the molds seemed to have issues with holes, the plasticine mold due to shoddy assembly and the printed molds
Continue reading 3/23 Elena and Sebastian Project Update

Project Synopsis: Our project explores the possibility of integrating a pneumatic system of parts to an existing framework of toys, in this case: Legos. This new system, presents the potential to teach those who may be unfamiliar with soft robotics with a lower barrier of entry to the field. The compatibility of the soft pneumatic
Continue reading Elena & Sebastian Research Plan

Experiment details: As we previously mentioned, we are planning to work with a system of manual pumps and soft actuated parts connected through tubes to make the parts move. Before testing the viability of the modularity, we wanted to make sure the base of the system is viable. This will be through testing how effective
Continue reading Sebastian and Elena: Bill of Materials

I initially proposed the idea of a toolkit for children to introduce them to pneumatic soft robots, comprised of various materials and folding patterns. Based off of the reading, I have assigned the following changes to my initial proposal. The incorporation of sensing and input to produce a physical change, this could be controlled through
Continue reading Research Study: Part B

A question that I’ve had throughout this course is how might we design an experience that presents a low barrier of entry to develop an understanding of soft robotics for younger audiences? Earlier explorations of soft lego research and pneumatic interfaces within soft robotics literary search as well as design searches of how electronics/tech is
Continue reading Research Study: Part A

SplashDisplay is an interactive art piece on temporary display at Kawasaki City Museum. Created by a team of researchers and artists and headed by Yasushi Matoba, a Ph.D. candidiate for HCI at the University of Electro-Communicatuions, Japan. This project utilizes projectile beads on the table to create a real time volumetric display system. When pressured air
Continue reading Infusing Art with Technology