Each limb is a single soft tube that only requires a constant flow of air to perform cyclic stepping motions at frequencies reaching 300 hertz.
Researchers have created soft robots that move independently without complex electronics in a breakthrough inspired by nature’s efficiency.
These robots, which are modeled after the roadside inflatable tube dancers, move in unison and independently thanks only to airflow and physical structure.
Using body mechanics and environmental feedback instead of continuous brain control, the invention, created by AMOLF in the Netherlands, mimics how animals move and opens up a new avenue for creating more straightforward, adaptable machines.
“With this work, the team hopes to inspire new ways of thinking about robotic design: simpler systems that are more adaptive and robust. Not through computation and AI, but through physics,” said researchers in a statement.
Nature-inspired robotics
Nature uses the interaction of the neural system, body mechanics, and environment to overcome the movement problem. To effectively coordinate motion, animals frequently rely on decentralized control, utilizing both internal brain connections and physical interactions with their environment.
Motivated by these ideas, scientists have created soft robots that move without needing electronic parts or centralized processing. By using both explicit and implicit processes for limb synchronization, these robots replicate the natural coordination found in organisms such as sea stars and stick insects.
Conventional robotic systems frequently use fluidic circuits or digital processors, which increase complexity and energy expenses. Even though fluidic systems do not require electronics, they nonetheless have limited autonomy and delayed sequencing.
The AMOLF team’s novel design overcomes this by utilizing three integrated layers of coordination: body-environment interactions to drive autonomous behavior, internal fluidic coupling for synchronized walking, and self-oscillating limbs. The outcome is a soft robot that can move quickly and adaptably, providing a fresh method for creating robots that behave more like living things without bulky controllers.
Air-driven autonomy
The driving force behind this new class of soft robots lies in a surprisingly familiar principle: the same physics that animates inflatable tube dancers. These robots’ soft, tubular legs first vibrate randomly since they are powered solely by a constant air stream. However, without a central processor or control system, the motion of several legs automatically synchronizes to generate rhythmic gaits that allow for quick, coordinated movement.
Natural phenomena like fireflies blinking in unison or heart cells beating in unison are mirrored by this spontaneous synchronization. As the limbs interact through basic physical forces, order appears out of what appears to be chaos. Compared to other air-powered robots that depend on centralized control systems, the resulting robot can reach speeds of up to 30 body lengths per second.
According to the team, the robot’s ability to adjust to its environment is even more amazing. It reorients itself if it runs into an obstruction. Its gait spontaneously changes from a hopping motion to a swimming rhythm when it moves from land to water. These changes only occur due to the interaction between the environment and body dynamics.
This study doubts whether digital intelligence is necessary for complicated robotic behavior. Instead, it demonstrates that simple mechanical designs can produce lifelike, functional behavior when properly tuned to exploit natural physical interactions.
Among possible uses are wearable exosuits without processors, drug-delivery microrobots, and mechanical systems for harsh environments like space. By prioritizing physical principles above computing, researchers say the study represents a change toward robotic systems that are more durable, efficient, and adaptive.
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The AMOLF team’s research details were published in the journal Science.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jijo Malayil Jijo is an automotive and business journalist based in India. Armed with a BA in History (Honors) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and a PG diploma in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, he has worked for news agencies, national newspapers, and automotive magazines. In his spare time, he likes to go off-roading, engage in political discourse, travel, and teach languages.
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