Somatosensory, Untethered Soft Robotic Muscles

Biological muscles possess somatosensory function that allows them to not only sense environmental stimuli but also produce responsive deformations according to changes in environmental stimuli. However, such function is largely absent for existing synthetic soft robotic muscles. Here, we present somatosensory untethered soft robotic muscles (SUSRMs) that seamlessly integrate proprioception of external stimuli and actuation of the muscle, enabling closed-loop control of somatosensory actuation. SUSRMs have leveraged the change of current arising from magnetic coupling in eddy current induction to achieve somatosensory function, and employed eddy current induction heating to enable programmable and spatiotemporal actuations. Based on SUSRMs, we demonstrate spatially programmable multidirectional catapult and logic circuit switches capable of temporally programmable sequential switching or environmentally adaptive control, the closed-loop controlled soft robot that can autonomously navigate remotely transmitting internal images in real time, and transport cargo in enclosed environments. Through a multifield-coupling control strategy, we also demonstrate a customizable multifunctional crab-shaped soft robot that enables multiterrain locomotion, carrying and releasing cargo, repairing circuits, and sensing the environment in enclosed spaces. Our design, based on the principle of eddy current induction, offers a versatile strategy to create advanced somatosensory and untethered soft robotic muscles.

生物肌肉（biological muscles）具备躯体感觉功能（somatosensory function），不仅可感知环境刺激，还能根据环境刺激的变化产生响应性形变。然而，现有合成软体机器人肌肉（synthetic soft robotic muscles）基本缺失此类功能。在此，我们提出了躯体感觉型无系留软体机器人肌肉（somatosensory untethered soft robotic muscles, SUSRMs），其将外部刺激本体感受与肌肉驱动功能无缝整合，实现了躯体感觉驱动的闭环控制。SUSRMs依托涡流感应（eddy current induction）中的磁耦合电流变化实现躯体感觉功能，并通过涡流感应加热实现可编程且具备时空调控能力的驱动。基于SUSRMs，我们展示了空间可编程多方向弹射装置与逻辑电路开关，可实现时序可编程的顺序切换或环境自适应控制；同时展示了可自主导航、实时远程传输内部图像的闭环控制软体机器人，以及可在封闭环境中完成货物运输的系统。通过多场耦合控制策略，我们还展示了一款可定制的多功能蟹形软体机器人，其可实现多地形移动、货物搬运与释放、电路修复，以及在封闭空间内感知环境。本设计基于涡流感应原理，为构建先进的躯体感觉型无系留软体机器人肌肉提供了通用解决方案。