A team from the EPFL have created soft robots that are flexible and soft enough to copy the way human muscles behave. These soft robots look more like pack of hot dogs (Photo from EPFL)
Sometimes it’s hard to think of robots as flexible, but they are out there. These bots, dubbed soft robots, are flexible allowing them to swim or twist and wiggle around. One team from the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is taking soft robots to a new level: muscle mimicry. The EPFL team is currently working on robots that are soft, flexible, and reconfigurable. They’re also working on a different variant featuring a thick shell. These bots can actually copy the way human muscles behave making them ideal for physical therapy. The robots can help people who have been injured or otherwise move and can be used for other functions on the human body.
So how do the soft robots work? You control them by changing the air pressure in specially designed balloons that also act as the robot’s body. And since they’re made from silicon and rubber, they’re safe to use on the human body. Because the bots are so flexible they can be used in a number of different ways, including dealing with fragile objects, home care, biomimetic systems, and rehabilitation.
The team has already created a medical device using their soft robots. They designed a belt meant to keep patients upright and controls their movements during certain physical therapy exercises. The current version isn’t pretty; it’s made of various foam noodle looking robots hooked to large external pumps to control air pressure. The team is hoping to cut back on the size and strap the pumps to the belt itself.
EPFL is working with physical therapists from the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV) to see how the soft robots work with stroke victims. But the team has bigger sights in store beyond the medical field for their soft robots. They also want to use them to build adaptable robots with the ability to navigate in small, hostile environments. Their flexibility makes it easy for them to be bent into different shapes and there’s no risk of breaking if they experience so squeezing or squishing.
They are also in the process of testing out different materials to make the robots more resilient. So far they’ve tried the previously mentioned actuator covered in a thick shell. They need to find the right balance of flexibility and durability since the soft materials currently in use can be difficult to control.
The use of soft robots for rehabilitation could change physical therapy as we know it. There are long standing methods that work, but if these robots can help patients to make a speedier and safer recovery, then the field can be much improved. As EPFL shows, the use of soft robots is endless; it’ll be exciting to see where they’ll go next.
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