Flexi Bots are soft robots that can survive in harsh conditions, such as very high temperatures, impact, and crushing pressures.

Current soft robots use hard bodies with soft actuators leaving the robot vulnerable to cracking under impact. Rigid bodies are often needed to channel hydraulic lines to soft actuators, leaving delicate lines exposed. In our expirments, we found that complex hydraulic paths can be created using meltaway wax inserts and breakaway 3D printed parts. This project pushed boundaries of 3D printing, using the brittle characteristics of resin prints and engineered weak points to create mold inserts that remained in place as the silicone cured, but could be broken off after the fact.

Our soft robots, having no rigid parts, can be run over by a car, exposed to temperatures over 500°, and remain perfectly functional.

The Adaptabowl: a flexible dish that morphs from plate to bowl when inflated. Molded from silicone, four circular bellows can be inflated to create whatever shape is most convenient to hold the food being served. 

The Adaptabowl conserves storage and packing space by converting from a plate to a bowl, eliminating the need for multiple kinds of dishes. Its flexible shape is ideal for transportation, and its versatility is useful for camping, picnicking, or dining with limited space at home. While other dishes exist that can be used in multiple ways (such as shallow bowls or “bowl plates"), and while collapsible silicone bowls are compact and portable, there is no vessel that changes from one functional shape to another. The Adaptabowl fills this gap by bringing the principles of the new field of soft robotics to the kitchen. Formed by four concentric bellows shaped like half-bagels, the dish curves up at the edges to form a bowl when inflated. By using a simple hand-held pump to inflate and deflate it, anyone can harness the power of soft technology to conserve space and pack practically.

Lucy:

The Synthetic Heart: A silicone heart that helps people visualize how the heart works.

The Synthetic Heart  is a silicone replica of a human heart that shows how a heart beats. Two syringes inflate and deflate the heart with fake blood to show the left and right sides of the heart beating.  The user will pump one side and then the other to get the beating motion. The heart is designed to be used in the classroom, as a teaching method for kinetic learners. One hope is that when people have a better understanding of how their body functions, they will take their health more seriously.

The Soft Articulating Hand: is a research project into soft robotics through re-creating a prosthetic hand that enables better grip than a normal robotic hand.

The Soft Articulating Hand evolved out of an exploration into of the potential of Soft Robotics. Soft robots have the ability to create refined movements that would otherwise require many motors or servos to create the same movement. This project is modeled off two preexisting soft robotic prosthetic hands. The goals of the Soft Articulating Hand are to enable lateral movement, to allow a more refined grip; to have hands that expand and contract; for gripping objects better; and to create wrist movement, to enhance fine motor skills. This device is designed for a person with a hand or arm amputation.

The hand movement is actuated through air flow pneumatics. It is comprised of seven primary components: four pneumatic-operated bellows, five silicone fingers (including the thumb), and two palm pieces. The process of mold making includes 3D-printing a mold, mixing silicone, and pouring silicone into the mold. After the silicone cures, the mold is removed. The hand movement is controlled by an Arduino that connects to twelve solenoid valves that are triggered by the push of buttons that correlate with each movement.

For future exploration, this prosthetic could have additional abilities that improve on the human hand itself: an example of this could include a feature like suction-cup grip, for a better hold on slippery things. 

The Adaptabowl: a flexible dish that morphs from plate to bowl when inflated. Molded from silicone, four circular bellows can be inflated to create whatever shape is most convenient to hold the food being served. 

The Adaptabowl conserves storage and packing space by converting from a plate to a bowl, eliminating the need for multiple kinds of dishes. Its flexible shape is ideal for transportation, and its versatility is useful for camping, picnicking, or dining with limited space at home. While other dishes exist that can be used in multiple ways (such as shallow bowls or “bowl plates"), and while collapsible silicone bowls are compact and portable, there is no vessel that changes from one functional shape to another. The Adaptabowl fills this gap by bringing the principles of the new field of soft robotics to the kitchen. Formed by four concentric bellows shaped like half-bagels, the dish curves up at the edges to form a bowl when inflated. By using a simple hand-held pump to inflate and deflate it, anyone can harness the power of soft technology to conserve space and pack practically.

These earphones that can inflate into bigger headphones allows the user to carry around a pair of headphones in their pocket and experience two different ways of listening to music, podcasts or watching videos. Drawing on soft robotics technology, the headphones rely on a small air pump that can inflate silicone rings around the earbuds; the rings become the ear pads from typical headphones. To make the silicone rings, creating a mold that allowed an air chamber inside the ring was a challenge. A three-part mold was used to create the rings and fabric was attached inside the ring to close out the air chamber. To use Convertible Headphones as earbuds, the user simply lets the air out and places their earbuds in their ears. To use them as headphones, the user inflates the rings with a small syringe enough so that the headphones comfortably fits their ears.