3D Printed Four-Legged Swarm Robots

Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.

On October 18th 2021, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana spoke of robotics engineer Yasemin Ozkan-Aydin’s work experimenting with 3D printed swarming robots. Equipped with 4 legs, each robot measured between 15 and 20cm long and was powered by a lithium polymer battery and microcontroller. In addition, each robot had a light sensor and a magnetic touch sensor at the front, as well as another magnetic touch sensor at the back, enabling them to physically join together.

The robots’ legs were flexible to reduce the need for other parts including additional sensors, and gave the robots a level of mechanical intelligence to help them navigate rough or uneven terrain. Co-authored by biomechanics professor Daniel Goldman of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Ozkan-Aydin’s research was published in the journal Science Robotics.

Amongst other types of terrain, Ozkan-Aydin used particle board to simulate the robots traversing flat ground. To mimic rough terrain, she used shag carpeting and particle board with rectangular wooden blocks glued to it. The robots were also tested on grass, mulch, leaves, acorns and stairs made from insulation foam. It was found that when a single robot became stuck, it sent a signal to the other robots, which joined onto the signaller to enable them to successfully traverse obstacles as a group.

Ozkan-Aydin expects her study to inform the design of low-cost legged robotic swarms that can adapt to unforeseen situations. She argued that this would entail performing real-world cooperative tasks, such as search-and-rescue operations, collective object transport, space exploration and environmental monitoring. For further research, she intends to focus on improving the system’s control, sensing and power capabilities, as well as using the system to investigate the collective dynamics of insects like ants and termites.

Another example of 3D printed swarming robots involves Harvard University of Cambridge, Massachusetts. In January 2021, it announced that a team of its researchers had developed a group of 3D printed robotic fish that could synchronize their movements like a school of real fish, all without any external control. Equipped with 2 cameras and 3 LED lights, each fish was programmed to detect the light emitted by its neighbours, such that it could determine how far away its neighbours were and in what direction its neighbours were heading.

As a proof of concept, the researchers simulated a search mission with a red light in the fishes’ tank. Initially, the fish spread out across the tank, until one came sufficiently close to the light to see it. This caused the fish’s LEDs to flash, prompting the rest of the school to aggregate around it. The team’s work was also published in the journal Science Robotics.

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Disclaimer: Featured image of “Brehms Tierleben. Allgemeine kunde des Tierreichs (1911-19-) (20404883422)” (as it is known on Wikimedia Commons) was taken from Flickr’s The Commons and has no known copyright restrictions. (On Flickr it is known as “Image from page 668 of “Brehms Tierleben. Allgemeine kunde des Tierreichs” (1911-19-).”)