Chairman, Department of Mechanical Engineering
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation
Beihang University
Li Wen (Member, IEEE) received the bachelor’s degree from the Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China, in 2005, and the Ph.D. degree from Beihang University, Beijing, in 2011.,He is currently a Full Professor with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Beihang University. He is also the Head of the Mechatronics and Automation Institute. His current research interests include soft robots, bioinspired robotics, and embodied intelligence for robots.,Dr. Wen is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Soft Robotics, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, etc.
Abstract (This page is solely for testing purpose)
Octopuses can whip their soft arms with a characteristic “bend propagation” motion to capture prey with sensitive suckers. This relatively simple strategy provides models for robotic grasping, controllable with a small number of inputs, and a highly deformable arm with sensing capabilities. Here, we implemented an electronics-integrated soft octopus arm (E-SOAM) capable of reaching, sensing, grasping, and interacting in a large domain. On the basis of the biological bend propagation of octopuses, E-SOAM uses a bending-elongation propagation model to move, reach, and grasp in a simple but efficient way. E-SOAM’s distal part plays the role of a gripper and can process bending, suction, and temperature sensory information under highly deformed working states by integrating a stretchable, liquid-metal–based electronic circuit that can withstand uniaxial stretching of 710% and biaxial stretching of 270% to autonomously perform tasks in a confined environment. By combining this sensorized distal part with a soft arm, the E-SOAM can perform a reaching-grasping-withdrawing motion across a range up to 1.5 times its original arm length, similar to the biological counterpart. Through a wearable finger glove that produces suction sensations, a human can use just one finger to remotely and interactively control the robot’s in-plane and out-of-plane reaching and grasping both in air and underwater. E-SOAM’s results not only contribute to our understanding of the function of the motion of an octopus arm but also provide design insights into creating stretchable electronics-integrated bioinspired autonomous systems that can interact with humans and their environments.