Soft Robots for NASA

While self-operating technology has been improved and self-driving cars can operate with the help of many variables autonomously on roads, what happens when there are no variables, and a robot must operate on tough terrains without being helped by external variables such as signs and markings? A robot operating by itself independently from other factors can lead to more space explorations. The purpose of this research is to design a robot that can navigate independently through rough terrains using only its sensors and without any help from the user. During the research, a soft robot is assembled using soft novel materials from a 3D printer. Using soft materials helps the robot to easily navigate through the rocky terrains that other planets have. The soft robot is then programmed to operate autonomously with minimal interaction with the user. The robot has many types of sensors such as infrared light, and an ultrasonic module that helps the robot track any obstacles in the way. All the sensors run through an Arduino microcontroller, which acts like a brain for the robot. The brain is composed of many nodes that send information to each other and a main node. The main node is the master node, which acts like a receiver and publisher and it sends information to the different sensors creating a service between them. The final design of this project is an autonomous robot that is fabricated using soft materials, and it is programmed using an Arduino microcontroller to go over complex terrains independently and without any help from the user