Soft pneumatic actuators, Reconfigurable Robotics Lab, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

An EPFL team is developing soft, flexible and reconfigurable robots. Air-actuated, they behave like human muscles and may be used in physical rehabilitation. They are made of low-cost materials and could easily be produced on a large scale.

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EPFL scientists have created the first functional robot powered entirely by vacuum: made up of soft building blocks, it moves by having air sucked out of them. The robot can be reconfigured to perform different tasks, like climbing vertical walls and grabbing objects.

This new robot sucks: to move, air has to be sucked out of its individual components. Inspired by muscle contraction, its individual soft components are activated (they collapse) when negative pressure (vacuum) is applied to them. The robot uses suction to grab objects or to stick to a smooth wall for climbing, so it can really achieve a wide range of tasks because of the unique properties of vacuum. The robot can be reconfigured to perform different tasks, making it highly modular and versatile, with a wide range of applications in both research and in industry. The invention is published today in Science Robotics.

“What we have is a fully functional robot which is entirely powered by vacuum, which has never been done before,” says EPFL roboticist Matt Robertson who worked on the project. “Previous work has shown individual components powered by vacuum, but never in a complete system.”

Vacuum-powered components are a recent addition to robotics – and, more importantly, they’re safe. Today, most actuators on the market are activated by applying positive pressure, i.e. by injecting air into their components. But containing positive pressure requires stiff high-pressure pneumatics, which also pose a safety threat: in extreme situations, they can explode. By comparison, vacuum-powered actuators are safe, soft, and simple to build.

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A reconfigurable, vacuum-powered soft robot driven by V-SPA Modules can be used for delicate industrial applications for safe operation in close proximity to or collaboration with humans

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A reconfigurable soft robot powered by vacuum can achieve multiple modes of locomotion

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