Development of a Low-Cost Quadrupedal Starfish Soft Robot

Abstract

In this paper, a low-cost soft quadrupedal starfish soft robot will be developed. The proposed soft robot's body has a shape with X configuration. The soft legs of the robot's material utilizes silicon rubber that has been available on the market especially in online store. While, poly lactic acid (PLA) is used as the material of robot's body. The soft leg of the robot employs tendon-based mechanism. Micro servomotors are selected for the actuation system. The electrical components must be lightweight enough in order to the robot can carry the load. Undulating gait was developed and implemented on the soft robots to move the soft legs in sequence and create a wave of motion that moves the entire robot body. The gait cycle equation is obtained using Fourier series. Based on the test result, the proposed starfish soft robot can walks in straightforward direction using undulating gait cycle.