Inflatable Shape-morphing Robots for Multi-environment Deployment

About This Grant

This award supports research to develop inflatable soft robots that are portable, safe, and adaptable for a wide array of environments. Unlike traditional rigid-bodied robots, inflatable robots can be compactly stored and safely deployed due to their lightweight and compliant structure. This project introduces a new class of untethered shape-morphing inflatable robots that addresses the critical limitations of current inflatable robots, namely their dependence on external power sources and slow actuation speeds. These new robots will store energy in high-pressure fabric bodies, employ novel embedded high-flow valves for fast and efficient actuation, and achieve on-demand shape changes to adapt their morphology for specific tasks and varied environments. This research supports the national welfare by advancing robotic capabilities in domains where safety, deployability, and adaptability are crucial such as disaster response, exploration, and personal assistance. Beyond robotics, the underlying technological innovations in pneumatic actuation and inflatable structures have other potential applications as well, such as emergency shelters, wearables, and other systems that require lightweight, reconfigurable components. The research is integrated with a comprehensive education and outreach plan that includes graduate and undergraduate student mentoring, as well as hands-on workshops for K-12 students to foster broad participation in STEM and inspire the next generation of engineers and roboticists. The project introduces a new paradigm for soft robotic systems through three tightly integrated thrusts: (1) development of high-pressure fabric robot bodies that serve as distributed energy storage systems for pneumatic actuation; (2) design of compact, high-flow embedded valves that increase actuation bandwidth by reducing the fluid resistance between the pressure source and actuators; and (3) creation of shape-morphing structures capable of rapidly adapting robot morphology through selective pressurization. Together, these contributions enable inflatable robots to operate untethered for extended durations, execute dynamic movements, and transition between locomotion modes suited to different terrains or tasks. The research will also yield scalable fabrication techniques, geometric modeling frameworks, and experimental validation of robot prototypes. Ultimately, this work establishes a foundation for multifunctional, deployable, and adaptive soft robotic systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.