For the first time, a robot autonomously walks out of the machine which made it.
Soft robotics holds transformative potential for healthcare, manufacturing, and human-machine interactions, but progress in research and toward reaching commercial goals is limited by the lack of standardized, scalable fabrication methods. Our open-source Flex Printer platform addresses this gap, enabling rapid, reliable production of ultra-flexible soft robots with embedded fluidic logic. By lowering technical and financial barriers, this work aims to democratize access to soft robotics, accelerate innovation, and foster new applications that can benefit society in both the short and long term. Ultimately, this platform lays the groundwork for widespread adoption and collaborative advancement in the field. We demonstrate the capability of this technique by showcasing a fully 3D-printed soft robot, which has a bill of materials of 1, embedded/embodied control and can walk out of the machine that made it.
The Flex Printer repository on Github
The Fluidic Machine Bestiary repository on Github
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