Inflatable Kirigami Crawlers

2025-02-10

AI Summary

Conventional pneumatic soft actuators suffer from low locomotion efficiency and uncontrolled directionality due to symmetric inflation/deflation. Method: This work introduces an inflatable Kirigami crawler fabricated from thermally sealed, stretchable fabric, featuring parametrically designed cut patterns that—under pneumatic cycling—trigger compressive buckling instability to generate asymmetric out-of-plane deformation and directional contraction. Contribution/Results: It represents the first integration of Kirigami geometry with inflatable textile actuators, leveraging cut-induced scale-law surface self-assembly and directional anisotropic friction (μ∥/μ⊥ ≈ 1.8) to achieve robust, anchor-free unidirectional crawling. Experiments demonstrate a twofold improvement in contraction performance, adaptability across multiple surface roughnesses, and programmable locomotion—including steering, speed modulation, and load-bearing (>3× body weight)—via multi-chamber segmented actuation.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Motion and Path Planning
• Computer Vision: Video Understanding & Activity Analysis
• Search and Optimization: Sampling/Simulation-based Search

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Efficiency and scalability of Web search engines
• Responsible Web: Measurement, analysis, and circumvention of Web censorship
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

Kirigami offers unique opportunities for guided morphing by leveraging the geometry of the cuts. This work presents inflatable kirigami crawlers created by introducing cut patterns into heat-sealable textiles to achieve locomotion upon cyclic pneumatic actuation. Inflating traditional air pouches results in symmetric bulging and contraction. In inflated kirigami actuators, the accumulated compressive forces uniformly break the symmetry, enhance contraction compared to simple air pouches by two folds, and trigger local rotation of the sealed edges that overlap and self-assemble into an architected surface with emerging scale-like features. As a result, the inflatable kirigami actuators exhibit a uniform, controlled contraction with asymmetric localized out-of-plane deformations. This process allows us to harness the geometric and material nonlinearities to imbue inflatable textile-based kirigami actuators with predictable locomotive functionalities. We thoroughly characterized the programmed deformations of these actuators and their impact on friction. We found that the kirigami actuators exhibit directional anisotropic friction properties when inflated, having higher friction coefficients against the direction of the movement, enabling them to move across surfaces with varying roughness. We further enhanced the functionality of inflatable kirigami actuators by introducing multiple channels and segments to create functional soft robotic prototypes with versatile locomotion capabilities.

Problem

• Develop inflatable kirigami crawlers for locomotion
• Enhance contraction and symmetry breaking via kirigami
• Achieve directional friction for versatile robotic movement

Innovation

• Kirigami cut patterns enhance locomotion
• Pneumatic actuation triggers controlled deformations
• Multiple channels enable versatile robotic movement