Author: jianingl@andrew.cmu.edu

For this week, we focused on silicone part production and electronic wiring. We currently have 4 flower parts and 3 flytrap parts we can work with. We have also bonded wired acetate to 3 flower parts and 2 flytrap parts, with 2 extra pieces of flower acetate cut and wired to be ready for bonding.
Continue reading 4/23 Progress Report- Catherine and Aditti

Last week we tested our cast silicone flowers again and one of them inflated. While we were hoping for a greater degree of movement, this test still confirmed our main design, and we decided to include notches in our second iteration to help with flexibility. We have also printed out a new mold with cuts
Continue reading Progress Report 2- Aditti and Catherine

We have designed 2 different mechanisms that we will include in our final model. One bends in a C-shape while the other puffs up. We have used these models and created flowers out of them. We have also 3D printed the molds and have poured the silicone. Since we also poured these molds with colored
Continue reading Proof of Concept- Aditti and Catherine

For our project, we are aiming to create a garden of plants that react to touch and are activated pneumatically. We are currently focusing on developing a design that mimics the movement of a venus flytrap. When touched, its jaws will bend upwards. To do so, we have designed 2 variations as prototypes to test
Continue reading Project Overview – Aditti and Catherine

Aditti and I are choosing to focus on animating plants. We each worked on different mold designs that could be useful in mimicking open and close movements. My inspiration for my part came from the Therms-Up! paper I found a while ago where the researchers used a 3D printer to weld plastic. I looked at
Continue reading Mold Design Workshop: Active Plants

The project I chose to explore is Geemo: a flexible modular toy with magnetic limbs that attract and repel each other in unpredictable ways. The creator Cas Holman was inspired by natural patterns and was interested in designing units forming irregular patterns. Additionally, the magnetic limbs were left unmarked and uncolored because she felt there
Continue reading Infusing Art with Technology: Geemo

Object with Behavior This is a soft robotics project I found a while ago online by designer Aslak Siimes, which features a joint made of a soft material. Due to the flexibility and range of motion of this soft material, the robot is able to perform fluid and life-like motion. I thought that the simplicity
Continue reading Art and Design Inspirations

Paper: A Multi-Module Soft Robotic Arm with Soft End Effector for Minimally Invasive Surgery M. Chen, D. Wang, J. Zou, L. Sun, J. Sun and G. Jin, “A Multi-Module Soft Robotic Arm with Soft End Effector for Minimally Invasive Surgery,” 2019 2nd World Conference on Mechanical Engineering and Intelligent Manufacturing (WCMEIM), Shanghai, China, 2019, pp.
Continue reading Literature Review

I first found a paper in IEEE that I thought was interesting: Soft, Wearable Robotics and Haptics: Technologies, Trends, and Emerging Applications [1]. This paper discussed current and future technologies for wearable soft robotics technologies considering factors such as functionality, wearability, and ergonomics. Some of these domains include rehabilitation and assistive devices, haptic interfaces, fashion,
Continue reading Lateral Literature Search Assignment

A Design and Fabrication Approach for Pneumatic Soft Robotic Arms Using 3D Printed Origami Skeletons The paper proposes a design and fabrication process for flexible robotic arms using an origami method. The origami skeleton combined with a pneumatic actuation system allows for fast activation while retaining pressure and tension. Using 3D printing is also good
Continue reading Research papers on soft robotics