This paper presents a paper actuator produced with 3D printing single layer conductive Polylactide (PLA) on copy paper. The technology is designed as a low cost and easily accessible method for achieving reversible and electrical actuation.
Guanyun Wang, Tingyu Cheng, Youngwook Do, Humphrey Yang, Ye Tao, Jianzhe Gu, Byoungkwon An, and Lining Yao. Printed paper actuator: a low-cost reversible actuation and sensing method for shape changing interfaces. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI ‘18, 1–12. Association for Computing Machinery, 2018. doi:10.1145/3173574.3174143.
bioPrint is a liquid deposition printing system that creates biohybrid films by depositing Bacillus subtilis bacterial spores on thin substrates. The hardware and software systems are designed to be open and accessible for users to reconfigure based on various needs.
Lining Yao, Jifei Ou, Guanyun Wang, Chin-Yi Cheng, Wen Wang, Helene Steiner, and Hiroshi Ishii. bioPrint: a liquid deposition printing system for natural actuators. 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, 2(4):168–179, 2015. Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. doi:10.1089/3dp.2015.0033.
This paper presents a way of creating moldless soft actuators by sculpting table salt and rubber molding compounds, resulting in soft, open-cell foam structures that are ready to use. It is proposed to allow engineers of all ages and skill levels to try fabricating soft robot, and inspire artistic practice with soft machines.
Alfredo Argiolas, Benjamin C. Mac Murray, Ilse Van Meerbeek, John Whitehead, Edoardo Sinibaldi, Barbara Mazzolai, and Robert F. Shepherd. Sculpting soft machines. Soft Robotics, 3(3):101–108, 2016. Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. doi:10.1089/soro.2016.0004.