Monolithic Programmable Fabric-Stacking Enables Multifunctional Soft Robots

Inspired by natural organisms, soft robots have showcased remarkable performance across various functions. However, creating multifunctional soft robotic systems typically increases manufacturing complexity, resulting in a cumbersome fabrication workflow with low programmability. Here, we present a monolithic fabric-based approach for the programmable fabrication of multifunctional soft robots. Our method involves programming bonding paths and sequentially attaching fabric layers to directly manufacture monolithic robots. The fabric is precisely shaped using a laser cutter, while a 3-D printer follows predesigned bonding paths to ensure repeatable manufacturing. By programming the contours of each fabric layer and their corresponding bonding paths, we create versatile soft robots that integrate expected functionalities, including large-range manipulation, multimodal locomotion, and their harmonious combination. Our approach offers a promising avenue to efficiently create multifunctional soft robots via monolithic and customized fabrication, which will accelerate the proliferation of soft robots and open the doors to a wide range of applications.