Date of Award
Spring 2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science (ENAS)
First Advisor
Kramer-Bottiglio, Rebecca
Abstract
The burgeoning field of soft robotics brings with it a wave of new and nontraditional materials to the robotics repertoire. New advances are being made using elastomers, foams, and gels as the core robotic substrate, giving rise to entirely new avenues of robot capability. Now more than ever, machines can be designed with extreme flexure, stretch, and even volume change as key functions, opening up a design space that rigid machinery cannot easily occupy. In this dissertation, I build upon the use of atypical materials, introducing fabrics as a new soft robotics platform. Fabrics are thin, have a fiber-based structure, and can access unique deformation states including drastic crumpling and folding. These features in turn open entry to an untapped design space where lightweight, highly compactible, self-folding machinery may be advantageous. While previous works have shown examples of rudimentary sensorized textiles, I stipulate that a truly robotic fabric must advance beyond sensing alone, to include actuation, and by extension, structural control. My research focuses on the development of these two key features by introducing multiple variable-stiffness mechanisms and a novel approach to bending actuators, each compatible with robotic fabrics, accompanied by detailed materials analysis. Several of these technologies are then demonstrated in controllable robotic structures, including simple move-and-hold devices, linkage mechanisms, fabric-based wings, and untethered locomoting fabric robots. Thus, beginning from fundamental materials research, to testing and manufacture of fiber-based actuators and variable-stiffness components, to implementation and control of fabric machines, this dissertation provides several key advancements toward fabrics-based machinery at every step along the process.
Recommended Citation
Buckner, Trevor Luke, "Robotic Fabrics Enabled by Functional Fibers and Responsive Materials" (2023). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 968.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/968
