Soft Robot Propelled by Explosions

Jul-12-15 Researchers have created a soft, 3D-printed robot able to propel itself with explosions, opening the door to more rugged robots able to withstand impacts.

Hard-bodied robots can carry out an array of tasks, but their rigid structure makes them susceptible to damage from impacts. As a compromise, a team from Harvard 3D-printed a baseball cap-sized robot with both soft and rigid layers.

The robot is the first to be 3D printed using a gradient of stiffness—a breakthrough in itself—and is propelled by an explosion of butane and oxygen that lifts the robot off the ground and into the air. The bot’s jump can be somewhat controlled by inflating the three legs independently to create an angle for each jump, and each leap can reach up to six times the robot's height.

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