Soft Responsive Steerable VINE Robot for Medical Applications
Team Members:
Capalina Melentyev
Jacinda Martinez
Sukanya Krishna
Nicholas O'Shea
Mentors:
Dr. Tania Morimoto
Dr. Sukjun Kim
Dr. Shengqiang Cai
Gaoweiang Dong
Abstract
Everting soft robotics, or vine robots, provides a method of navigating constrained environments with reduced friction including surgical procedures that must navigate delicate human anatomy. We propose a novel vine robot that utilizes a heat-responsive polymer, liquid crystal elastomer (LCE), to enable steering when actuated by heat. The design consists of a 920mm long x 25mm diameter vine robot containing six 0.6mm thick LCE strips placed directly above flexible heaters embedded into the vine body. The LCEs are strategically placed to allow steering in specific directions with TPU slits facilitating constant curvature of bending of the vine. The vine robot achieved bending angles of 20° to 60° corresponding to changes in internal pressure between 0.5 psi and 2.5 psi. The performance suggests that material-enabled steerable vine robots can be used in anatomical environments such as the colon and may serve as a starting point for future material-enabled steerable vine robots to be used in medical applications
Abet Addendum
Capalina Melentyev
Sukanya Krishna
Jacinda Martinez
Nicholas O'Shea
The Team