Autonomous Kirigami Materials Enable Active Shape Shifting in Insect Robots

A promising framework upon which inherently robust engineered systems can be built, is with so-called “robotic materials” (RM), i.e. a medium that tightly integrates local and redundant sensing, actuation, processing and communication. Readily available RMs would add unprecedented capabilities to our engineered systems but unfortunately, it is challenging to fabricate these materials. Popular additive manufacturing techniques like 3D printing, CMOS/MEMS fabrication are not ideal for integrating vastly different materials technologies or creating intricate features (at the micron scale) in a scalable, low-cost approach. One promising manufacturing method is the kirigami based stack laminate approach (Smart Composite Microstructures (SCM), Printed Circuit Microelectromechanical Systems Fabrication (PC-MEMS), etc.), which combines additive and subtractive processes selectively to successfully build individual RM components: (structure) insect scale robots, (sensing) stretchable sensor networks, (actuation) shape changing structures and (processing/communication) flexible electronics, but it has yet to be used to integrate these features into a single medium consistently. We will present our group's latest research on extending the PC-MEMS fabrication approach to begin to approach the promise of robotic materials and realize autonomous functionality. Specifically, we take advantage of femtosecond laser micromachining to pattern diverse materials including variety of smart materials which could not be previously fabrication using traditional laser processing. My research will focus on the development of a microrobotic smart legs with robust closed loop sensing and actuation, based on a laminate robotic material (LRM), helping to solve the manufacturing and system integration challenges of building LRMs. By integrating actuation, sensing and communication across leg modules, we will enable active shape shifting in a quadrupedal insect scale robot to demonstrate adaptable and agile locomotion in complex real-world settings.