DO : Lab - Make an Earthworm

Building an Earthworm Robot

You have seen several soft robots in action and have even heard from some of the folks in the field, but now it is time to build your own soft robot!

Inspiration for this robot comes from a YouTube member named Xyzaiden who has built a lot of soft robots in the past.

To make this earthworm robot you will need:

Two (2) large syringes (60 CCs are recommended) **without** the needle
1/8" Plastic tubing
1/2" Braided expandable tubing
2 Latex long balloons (the type you make balloon animals with)
Two (2) 5/16-Inch by 18-Inch Nylon Insert Lock Nuts

You will also need the following tools:

Duct tape or electrical tape
Scissors
A lighter

Steps

1 . Insert the tubing into the syringes. You only need about 3-6 inches of typing per syringe.

2 . Slide the nylon lock nuts onto the expandable braided sleeving. You may need to burn the ends of the nylon a little bit to keep it from splitting apart at the ends, but make sure you don't close it because the balloon still needs to fit inside the sleeving.

3 . Next, insert the balloon into the sleeving with the open-side of the balloon facing outwards. To insert the balloon is a bit tricky, but the best approach is to condense the sleeving, push the tip of the balloon as far into the sleeving as possible and repeat this pattern more or less. Focus on the tip of the balloon and the rest of the balloon will follow.

4 . After that, insert the tubing into the balloons and secure the ends with tape to prevent the balloon from falling off when being inflated. Slide down the nylon lock nuts to hold the tubing in place with added pressure. The final product should look as below.

That's it! You now have a soft robot that is made with inexpensive parts. When you inject air into one-side of the robot, this side will compress, moving the robot in the direction of the syringe used. While that side is still compressed, compress the other side of the robot, this will move the body towards the other syringe. Now, deflate the balloon of the first syringe expanding the body. Finally, relax the other side of the syringe. Repeat this motion and you can make your robot (very, very slowly) walk across the surface.