The Soft Robotics Toolkit

The Soft Robotics Toolkit (https://softroboticstoolkit.com) is an online collection of resources to support the design, fabrication, modeling, characterization, and control of soft robotic devices. Developed as part of educational research being conducted at the Harvard Biodesign Lab, the Toolkit aims to advance the field of soft robotics by allowing designers and researchers to share and build upon each other’s work. The site includes detailed design documentation describing the fabrication of a wide range of soft robotic components (including actuators and sensors and controls), and related files that can be downloaded and used in the design, manufacture, and operation of soft robots. In combination with low material costs and increasingly accessible rapid prototyping technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC mills, the Toolkit enables soft robotic components to be produced easily and affordably.

Example fabrication process overview (see: Fiber Reinforced Actuators)