Inchworm Locomotive Soft Robots Actuated by a Single Pneumatic Line.

Constitutive hyperelastic materials are highly useful in achieving both large deformation and compliant interaction with the environment. Due to these promising mechanical characteristics, soft robotics is an attractive research topic that explore possibilities to mimic creatures in nature for real-world applications. Nonetheless, the implementation of the higher motion primitives capable of multiple degrees of freedom remains an open challenge due to the complexity in control and modeling. In this view, this work presents preliminary results on an inchworm-like soft robot actuated by only one pneumatic line. Similar to an inchworm in nature, our robot can generate the gait by controlling the airflow in the robot body through the solenoid valve. The monolithic soft body integrated with the suction cup enables to improve mechanical functionalities. Conclusively, our design strategies allowed the robot to maneuver at an inclined track of 20º with a linear velocity of 0.2 mm/s.