A Reconfigurable Soft Linkage Robot via Internal “Virtual” Joints

Traditional robots derive their capabilities of movement through rigid structural "links" and discrete actuated "joints." Alternatively, soft robots are composed of flexible materials that permit movement across a continuous range of their body and appendages and thus are not restricted in where they can bend. While trade-offs between material choices may restrain robot functionalities within a narrow spectrum, we argue that bridging the functional gaps between soft and hard robots can be achieved from a hybrid design approach that utilizes both the reconfigurability and the controllability of traditional soft and hard robot paradigms. In this study, we present a hybrid robot with soft inflated "linkages," and rigid internal joints that can be spatially reconfigured. Our method is based on the geometric pinching of an inflatable beam to form mechanical pinch-joints connecting the inflated robot linkages. Such joints are activated and controlled via internal motorized modules that can be relocated for on-demand joint–linkage configurations. We demonstrate two applications that utilize joint reconfigurations: a deployable robot manipulator and a terrestrial crawling robot with tunable gaits.