Recycling-oriented design in soft robotics

Soft robotics is a novel approach in the field of robotics. Soft robots or soft actuators are typically polymer-based and are characterized by their flexibility and adaptability, which brings new far-reaching applications. Soft robotics is currently at the peak of its research. One circumstance that is also present in this age is constant climate change; there is a demand for sustainability. This goes hand in hand with the design of products that are suitable for recycling. Today, more is expected of an engineer than just function-oriented design. This article looks at soft robotics from the point of view of sustainability. Since nature operates in cycles, the aim is to design products in such a way that they can be introduced into cycles. Three recycling cycles for products can be distinguished, which take place during production, during product use, and after product life. Within the framework of this work, special design measures are reviewed for fluidic elastomer actuators - a characteristic type of soft actuators - so that they can be integrated into the recycling process.

Subjects

soft robotics

recycling-oriented design

fluidic elastomer actuators (FEAs)

DDC Class

620: Ingenieurwissenschaften

Funding(s)

Open Access Publizieren 2018 - 2019 / TU Hamburg

More Funding Information

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Lizenz

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Name

actuators-08-00062.pdf

Size

3.09 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

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Recycling-oriented design in soft robotics