Board # 135 : MAKER: Taking Soft Robotics from the Laboratory to the Classroom

Soft robots are an emerging technology which causes us to rethink the design and fabrication of robots. The pliable material they are made of—often things like silicone or fabric—adapts to objects and tasks and have increased potential for safe human interaction. However, the driving principles behind soft robot fabrication and operations are also fundamentally different; soft robots are fabricated by material synthesis and operate using material deformation, whereas traditional robots are typically built using pre-fabricated, rigid materials, and operate using mechanical assemblies. We have adapted laboratory procedures for making soft robot grippers to fit classroom equipment and constraints. We have also extended previous outreach efforts to make these grippers by developing a 3D printed mold which affords design variation. This paper describes the roots of our work and gives an overview of a classroom process for soft robot fabrication. Other resources describing the breadth of our research with classroom-integrated soft robot design are mentioned.