IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2016 - 27

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 3. Entries in the design category of the competition. (a) A soft wheel robot from Cornell University. (b) The FeTCH Mark 1
manipulator from the Lille University of Science and Technology. (c) A glove that detects and reduces hand tremors from Olympia
High School, Washington.

mimics the elongation, omnidirectional
bending, and stiffness variation capabilities of an octopus tentacle was submitted by I. De Falco, M. Cianchetti, and A.
Menciassi from the BioRobotics Institute at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in
Pisa, Italy [Figure 2(b)] [5]. In keeping
with the theme of the Soft Robotics
Toolkit, U. Çulha, F. Giardina, S. Nurzaman, and I. Fumiya from the Machine
Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom submitted the Hot Glue Kit, which
includes an actuation unit and modeling tools to enable the rapid prototyping
and analysis of soft robot designs based
on hot melt adhesives [6].
The winning entry in the design
competition was the Soft Wheel Robot
submitted by O. Farias Jr., N. Nieminen,
C. Strock, H. Kress-Gazit, and R. Shepherd from Cornell University in New
York [Figure 3(a)]. This device consists
of a cylindrical plastic shell with elastomeric channels on the exterior. By selectively inflating these channels, the
rolling speed and direction of the robot
can be controlled up to a maximum
speed of about 6 m/min. The electropneumatic components that control the
inflation of the channels are contained
within the plastic shell, and the robot is
not tethered to any external pressure or
power source.
Runner-up entries in the design
competition included the FeTCH
Mark 1 manipulator, a soft robotic arm

that makes use of a hybrid actuation
system composed of pneumatic and
tendon-based actuators, submitted by
T. Bieze, F. Largillière, S. Hage Chehade, M. Sanz Lopez, and C. Duriez
from the Lille University of Science
and Technology in France [Figure 3(b)]. K. Uyama from Waseda
University in Japan and E. Akanuma
from the University of Tokyo submitted a design for a compact actuation
system for soft fluidic robots. A project titled Soft Robotics for the Hobby
Roboticist by A. Terranova consisted
of a robotic hand and an electropneumatic control system, and it aimed to
make soft robotics more accessible by
using common tools and affordable
materials. S. Mundaba, a student at
Olympia High School in Washington,
designed and built a glove that detects
and reduces hand tremor, using flexion sensors and pneumatic actuators
[Figure 3(c)]. Another team of high
school students, D. Depriest, S.J. Lee,
and S.Y. Song from the Barstow
School in Missouri, received an honorable mention for an unpowered
child's teddy bear. Squeezing the
bear's torso inflated the bending actuators inside its arms, causing it to hug
you back.
At the time of writing, the 2016 competition was under way, and 96 teams
have registered. The competition again
includes categories for design and research, and a new category for high

school participants has been added to
recognize the quality of submissions from
younger students. The soft robotics competitions will continue to be an annual
event taking place between January and
June. For more information, please see
http://softroboticstoolkit.com/.
References
[1] L. Margheri and C. Laschi, "The soft robotics week: A new yearly event for the community of soft robotics," Soft Robotics, vol. 2,
no. 2, pp. 88-90, 2015.
[2] D. P. Holland, E. J. Park, P. Polygerinos, G.
J. Bennett, and C. J. Walsh, "The soft robotics
toolkit: shared resources for research and
design," Soft Robotics, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 224-230,
2014.
[3] W. Felt, K. Y. Chin, and C. D. Remy, "Contraction sensing with smart braid McKibben
muscles," IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechatron., vol.
21, no. 3, pp. 1201-1209, 2016.
[4] M. Loepfe, C. M. Schumacher, and W. J.
Stark, "Design, performance, and reinforcement of bearing-free soft silicone combustion-driven pumps," Ind. Eng. Chem., vol. 53,
no. 31, pp. 12519-12526, 2014.
[5] I. De Falco, M. Cianchetti, and A. Menciassi, "STIFF-FLOP surgical manipulator: design
and preliminary motion evaluation," in Proc.
4th Workshop Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery (CRAS), Genoa, Italy, 2014, pp. 131-134.
[6] X. Yu, S. G. Nurzaman, U. Culha, and F.
Iida, "Soft robotics education," Soft Robotics,
vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 202-212, 2014.

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