Self-sensing cellulose structures with design-controlled stiffness
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Published version
Author(s)
Wiesemuller, fabian
Winston, crystal
Miriyev, aslan
Kovac, mirko
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Robots are often used for sensing and sampling in natural environments. Within this area, soft robots have become increasingly popular for these tasks because their mechanical compliance makes them safer to interact with. Unfortunately, if these robots break while working in vulnerable environments, they create potentially hazardous waste. Consequently, the development of compliant, biodegradable structures for soft, eco-robots is a relevant research area that we explore here. Cellulose is one of the most abundant biodegradable materials on earth, but it is naturally very stiff, which makes it difficult to use in soft robots. Here, we look at both biologically and kirigami inspired structures that can be used to reduce the stiffness of cellulose based parts for soft robots up to a factor of 19 000. To demonstrate this, we build a compliant force and displacement sensing structure from microfibrillated cellulose. We also describe a novel manufacturing technique for these structures, provide mechanical models that allow designers to specify their stiffness, and conclude with a description of our structure's performance.
Date Issued
2021-04
Date Acceptance
2021-02-09
Citation
Proceedings of 4th IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (Robosoft)
ISSN
2377-3766
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Start Page
4017
End Page
4024
Journal / Book Title
Proceedings of 4th IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (Robosoft)
Volume
6
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. For more information, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (E
Commission of the European Communities
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Identifier
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9381695
Grant Number
EP/R026173/1
810321
EP/R009953/1
Source
Robosoft 2021
Subjects
0913 Mechanical Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Start Date
2021-04-12
Coverage Spatial
Yale University, USA.
Date Publish Online
2021-03-31