TY - GEN
T1 - Eating, Drinking, Living, Dying and Decaying Soft Robots
AU - Rossiter, Jonathan
AU - Winfield, Jonathan
AU - Ieropoulos, Ioannis
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Soft robotics opens up a whole range of possibilities that go far beyond conven-tional rigid and electromagnetic robotics. New smart materials and new design and modelling methodologies mean we can start to replicate the operations and functionalities of biological organisms, most of which exploit softness as a critical component. These range from mechanical responses, actuation principles and sensing capabilities. Additionally, the homeostatic operations of organisms can be exploited in their robotic counterparts. We can, in effect, start to make robotic organisms, rather than just robots. Important new capabilities include the fabri-cation of robots from soft bio-polymers, the ability to drive the robot from bio-energy scavenged from the environment, and the degradation of the robot at the end of its life. The robot organism therefore becomes an entity that lives, dies, and decays in the environment, just like biological organisms. In this chapter we will examine how soft robotics have the potential to impact upon pressing environ-mental pollution, protection and remediation concerns.
AB - Soft robotics opens up a whole range of possibilities that go far beyond conven-tional rigid and electromagnetic robotics. New smart materials and new design and modelling methodologies mean we can start to replicate the operations and functionalities of biological organisms, most of which exploit softness as a critical component. These range from mechanical responses, actuation principles and sensing capabilities. Additionally, the homeostatic operations of organisms can be exploited in their robotic counterparts. We can, in effect, start to make robotic organisms, rather than just robots. Important new capabilities include the fabri-cation of robots from soft bio-polymers, the ability to drive the robot from bio-energy scavenged from the environment, and the degradation of the robot at the end of its life. The robot organism therefore becomes an entity that lives, dies, and decays in the environment, just like biological organisms. In this chapter we will examine how soft robotics have the potential to impact upon pressing environ-mental pollution, protection and remediation concerns.
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-319-46460-2_12
DO - 10.1007/978-3-319-46460-2_12
M3 - Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)
SN - 9783319464596
T3 - Biosystems & Biorobotics
SP - 95
EP - 101
BT - Soft Robotics: Trends, Applications and Challenges
A2 - Laschi, Cecilia
A2 - Rossiter, Jonathan
A2 - Iida, Fumiya
A2 - Cianchetti, Matteo
A2 - Margheri, Laura
PB - Springer
ER -