Sim 2 real of soft-bodied , shape-changing robots

Soft robots provide a unique capability over rigid machines: the ability to continuously change their shape on demand. As demonstrated by organisms capable of shape change, this behavior has several desirable properties, including the ability to enter and operate in a wider range of environments, or manipulate objects with greater delicacy than a fixed-shape organism can. Introducing shape as a control variable leads to a rich yet complicated range of configurations, opening up a wide range of possibilities for multi-functional, shape-changing robots. Here, we present a target pipeline for the automatic design of soft-bodied, shape-changing robots to accomplish an input task, such as locomotion or grasping. We demonstrate working aspects of such a pipeline as we attempt sim2real transfer of morphing robots. In this context, we explore the current role of simulation, shortcomings of current soft robot simulators, and discuss methods for overcoming such shortcomings.