We observe that the Atlantic razor clam ( Ensis directus ) burrows out of sand rapidly by simply extending and contracting its muscular foot. This is notably different from its well-known downward burrowing strategy or the dual-anchor mechanism, where closing/opening of the shell and dilation of the foot are also involved. Inspired by this burrowing-out strategy, we design a simple self-burrowing-out robot (SBOR) consisting of a single segment of fiber-reinforced silicone tube actuator and an external control board. The reinforcing fibers limit the motion of the actuator to axial extension/contraction under inflation/deflation. For an actuator that is vertically buried in the sand, cyclic inflation and deflation naturally drives it out of the sand, mimicking the motion of a razor clam. We characterize the burrowing-out behavior of the actuator by varying the actuation period and the relative density (packing) of the sand. Each burrowing cycle features an initial upward adva...

中文翻译：

---

SBOR：一款受蛏子启发的极简软体自动挖洞机器人。

我们观察到大西洋蛏子（Ensis directus）通过简单地伸展和收缩其肌肉发达的足部而迅速地从沙子中钻出。这明显不同于其众所周知的向下挖洞策略或双锚机制，其中还涉及外壳的关闭/打开和足部的扩张。受这种挖洞策略的启发，我们设计了一个简单的自挖洞机器人（SBOR），由单节纤维增强硅胶管致动器和外部控制板组成。增强纤维将致动器的运动限制为在膨胀/放气下轴向伸展/收缩。对于垂直埋在沙子中的执行器，循环充气和放气自然而然地将其从沙子中排出，模拟蛏子的运动。我们通过改变驱动周期和沙子的相对密度（填充）来表征驱动器的挖洞行为。每个挖洞周期都有一个初始向上的优势……