Since the early 20th century, the field of robotics has produced massive change through automation in areas such as manufacturing, agriculture and exploration. Modern day robots operating under computer control can perform complex actions with high speed and accuracy, making them ideal for industrial application. However, these robots consist of rigid components made of hard materials that are not suitable for interaction with humans. Moreover, conventional robots suffer from several drawbacks, including the use of discrete joints, which limits movement, the heavy, bulky nature of common actuators (e.g. pumps, valves, drive electronics) and the intensive computational power requirements needed for a highly responsive system.
To bring robots into the home and into contact with humans, researchers have turned to biology for inspiration in the design of so-called ‘soft robots’. These robots incorporate soft materials that are inexpensive and provide a continuously deformable structure that enables extensive movement and safe interaction with humans. The addition of ‘smart’ materials further provides opportunities to reduce the weight, size and power requirements of robots, for example by using a material that passively adapts to surroundings, thus reducing computational requirements. Recent advances in soft robotics seek to mimic the properties of human tissues. Examples include artificial muscles that can be faster, lighter and more energy-efficient than conventional actuators and produce fine motion control along multiple axes, as well as compliant support structures that can store elastic energy mid-movement in the same way as the human skeleton. The inspiration for such advances comes from nature, whether from humans or even invertebrates like cephalopods, which achieve locomotion and manipulation without a skeleton. The next step in this journey, and the focus of Bionics@UBC, involves the use of smart materials to integrate sensation, actuation, computation, power storage and communication into a soft structure that is suitable for human interaction.