ABSTRACT
The driving principle behind most robots is force actuation leading to a form of directed movement. Natural or organic systems can inspire the design of biological robots that replicate or enhance many basic locomotive strategies with novel solutions, facilitating engineering approaches to challenges that are historically plaguing traditional robotics. Stiff skeletons and electromagnetic actuators can result in rigid bioactuators that exhibit few degrees of freedom (DOF) and lack multifunctionality or adaptability. Conversely, effective soft bioactuators generally have more DOF, higher power-to-weight ratios, and are more compliant than their rigid counterparts. Typically composed of flexible polymers and fluids (sometimes with biological materials), they are often capable of untethered and directional locomotion, elastic deformation, efficient energy storage, and robust motion control. These lightweight materials have lower stiffness that corresponds to properties of biological matter with which they might interact. Rapid prototyping (RP) refers to a group of techniques that collect digital information to fabricate physical 3D structures in an additive fashion, allowing for complex structures and geometries, high spatial control, and a range of properties. In this chapter, we discuss the use of RP technologies to achieve the development of soft bioactuators.
