Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Abstract
The fully automated fabrication of robots has long been a holy grail with thepotential to revolutionize various industries, including manufacturing, con-struction, disaster relief, and space exploration. 3D printing offers a promisingapproach to automation, but the ability to print entire, complex robots withmultiple materials remains limited. Previous approaches have simplified robotmanufacturing by using fluidic control circuits, but these rely on labor-intensivemethods like silicone molding and manual assembly, limiting accessibility andreplicability. Recent work, including this work, has demonstrated 3D-printedrobotic grippers and crawlers with embedded control circuits, but generatingcyclic control outputs for legged locomotion in rough terrain remains challenging.This study addresses the challenge with a monolithic 3D-printable four-phasebistable oscillating valve, capable of generating coordinated motion of multiplelimbs from a steady source of pressurized air. The ability of the oscillator tocontrol an electronics-free autonomous legged robot capable of walking on roughterrain, which can be fully fabricated on a desktop 3D printer without postas-sembly is demonstrated. The robot is operational immediately upon connectionto an air supply. This development marks a significant step toward accessible,customizable, and biodegradable autonomous soft robots that can be producedusing desktop 3D printers with no human intervention.
Yichen Zhai et al. Advanced Intelligent Systems. 2025, 2400876.
doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202400876
Abstract
The fully automated fabrication of robots has long been a holy grail with thepotential to revolutionize various industries, including manufacturing, con-struction, disaster relief, and space exploration. 3D printing offers a promisingapproach to automation, but the ability to print entire, complex robots withmultiple materials remains limited. Previous approaches have simplified robotmanufacturing by using fluidic control circuits, but these rely on labor-intensivemethods like silicone molding and manual assembly, limiting accessibility andreplicability. Recent work, including this work, has demonstrated 3D-printedrobotic grippers and crawlers with embedded control circuits, but generatingcyclic control outputs for legged locomotion in rough terrain remains challenging.This study addresses the challenge with a monolithic 3D-printable four-phasebistable oscillating valve, capable of generating coordinated motion of multiplelimbs from a steady source of pressurized air. The ability of the oscillator tocontrol an electronics-free autonomous legged robot capable of walking on roughterrain, which can be fully fabricated on a desktop 3D printer without postas-sembly is demonstrated. The robot is operational immediately upon connectionto an air supply. This development marks a significant step toward accessible,customizable, and biodegradable autonomous soft robots that can be producedusing desktop 3D printers with no human intervention.
Yichen Zhai et al. Advanced Intelligent Systems. 2025, 2400876.
doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202400876
