2023 AIChE Annual Meeting
(542f) Plant-Inspired Mechano-Sensing Soft Robots
Modern society relies on robotic automation to accomplish menial, hazardous, and sophisticated tasks. A
growing subfield of robotics uses soft materials to accomplish these tasks. While promising, soft robotics
lacks a key feature: mechanosensitivity. To address this challenge, we designed a smart skin transmitting
information solely using poroelasticity in a fashion reminiscent of plant mechanoperception. More
specifically, we designed a PDMS pad with hollow channels filled with a liquid, that we implemented on
a homemade 3D-printed arm and connected to a pressure sensor. We could then access experimentally the
strain applied by the robotic arm and the associated pressure response, and use these inputs in
combination with contact mechanics theory to extract an effective Youngâs modulus. Moreover, we later
on replaced the pressure sensor with an ionic hydrogel to transform the pressure signal into an ionic
response compatible with biological tissues. As a result, our approach shows promise in the design of
mechanosensitive soft robots and prosthetics to impart mechanosensing abilities to a wide public, from
amputees to automatic devices handling soft objects or interacting with humans.
growing subfield of robotics uses soft materials to accomplish these tasks. While promising, soft robotics
lacks a key feature: mechanosensitivity. To address this challenge, we designed a smart skin transmitting
information solely using poroelasticity in a fashion reminiscent of plant mechanoperception. More
specifically, we designed a PDMS pad with hollow channels filled with a liquid, that we implemented on
a homemade 3D-printed arm and connected to a pressure sensor. We could then access experimentally the
strain applied by the robotic arm and the associated pressure response, and use these inputs in
combination with contact mechanics theory to extract an effective Youngâs modulus. Moreover, we later
on replaced the pressure sensor with an ionic hydrogel to transform the pressure signal into an ionic
response compatible with biological tissues. As a result, our approach shows promise in the design of
mechanosensitive soft robots and prosthetics to impart mechanosensing abilities to a wide public, from
amputees to automatic devices handling soft objects or interacting with humans.