2015 Design Competition Entries

Winners

These projects were not only based on smart ideas, but the teams did a great job documenting their design steps so that we could understand their thought process as to why certain decisions were made. Both teams also did a great job testing their ideas in a way that is easily understood and repeatable.

Soft Wheel Robot	Smart Braids As the actuator contracts, the fibers become more aligned and the inductance increases.

Soft Wheel Robot

Smart Braids

Inducance Changes with Length — As the actuator contracts, the fibers become more aligned and the inductance increases.

Other Entries

These projects, all unique and interesting, did not win and could've improved in the areas of documentation, experimental setups, and testing. It's important for us to see as many significant iterations in the project as possible. Note: clicking on these links will take you to our archive site.

MyGlove: Detecting and Controlling Tremors	FeTCh Mark 1 Manipulator
Soft Robotics for the Hobby Roboticist	Unleash the Tether: The Development of a Direct Hydraulic Pump-Driven Soft Actuator
Huggy Bear	AirStrap: Actuator Sandal
Soft Robotics for Kids with LEGO Mindstorms	A Synergistic Design Leveraging the Diverse Functionalities of Soft- and Rigid-Bodied Robots
Soft Barrier	A perching bi-copter robot with soft arms and soft grippers
An Elephant-Inspired Pneumatic Gripper for Fruit Picking	String Controlled Soft Robot
Soft-Robotic Endoscope	Development of a Soft 'Ex-Vivo' Test Rig to Evaluate Spinal Biomechanics
Soft Robotics Electronics Module	Enhanced Soft Robotics Toolkit with Proportional Soft Valves
An Ornithopter Driven by Pneumatic Artificial Muscles