Soft Robotics (eBook)

Soft robotics is an emerging field that approaches robots in new ways, enabling them to operate in environments that are unstructured or unstable and to perform tasks that require delicacy and malleability. It's all about engineering with soft materials -- silicone, cloth, balloons, flexible plastics -- and combining them in different ways to come up with novel, approachable, and surprising solutions to interesting problems. This book introduces soft-robotics concepts to students, inventors, and makers with easy-to-understand explanations and hands-on DIY projects. The projects use a wide range of tools and techniques -- including microcontrollers, 3D printing, laser cutting, mold making, casting, and heat sealing -- to create intriguing soft robots and devices. It is tinkering at its finest! Code samples can be found at github.com/gianteye/makesoftrobots.World's first DIY project book on soft roboticsWritten by designers working on the forefront of the fieldApproaches projects from simple introductions to more complex designs that build on what you knowExplore robotics using novel materials and techniques you can apply to challenges far outside of roboticsSoft robotics DIY projects that are relatively affordable, accessible and achievable.Explore and build creations from the brand new emerging field of roboticsProvides context on the field of soft robotics alongside hands-on learningTeaches skills frequently overlookedProjects that are aesthetically appealing and novelForeword by Chris Atkeson, whose research directly inspired the design of Big Hero 6's Baymax