Untethered soft robots have the potential to impact a variety of applications, particularly if they are capable of controllable locomotion and dexterous manipulation. Magnetic fields can provide human-safe, contactless actuation, opening the gates to applications in confined spaces — for example, in minimally invasive surgery. To translate these concepts into reality, soft robots are being developed with different capabilities, such as functional components to achieve motion and object manipulation. This paper investigates the tandem actuation of two separate functions (locomotion and grasping) through multi-legged soft robots with grippers, actuated by magnetic fields. The locomotion and grasping functions are activated separately by exploiting the difference in the response of the soft robots to the magnitude, frequency and direction of the actuating magnetic field. Two robots capable of performing controllable straight and turning motions are demonstrated: a millipede-inspired robot with legs moving in a rhythmic pattern, and a hexapod robot with six magnetic legs following an alternating tripod gait. Two types of grippers are developed: one inspired by prehensile tails and another similar to flowers or jellyfish. The various components are fabricated using a composite of silicone rubber with magnetic powder, and analyzed using quasi-static models and experimental results. Fully untethered locomotion of the robots and independent gripper actuation are illustrated through experiments. The maneuverability of the robots is proven through teleoperated steering experiments where the robots navigate through the workspace while avoiding obstacles. The ability of the robots to manipulate objects by operating in tandem with the grippers is demonstrated through multiple experiments, including pick-and-place tasks where the robots grasp and release cargo at specific locations when triggered using magnetic fields.

不受束缚的软机器人具有影响各种应用的潜力，特别是如果它们能够控制运动和灵巧操纵。磁场可以提供人身安全的非接触式致动，从而为狭窄空间中的应用打开了大门，例如在微创手术中。为了将这些概念变为现实，正在开发具有不同功能的软机器人，例如用于实现运动和对象操纵的功能组件。本文研究了由带磁场的机械手和带抓爪的多腿软机器人串联驱动两个独立功能（运动和抓握）的方法。通过利用软机器人对幅度的响应差异来分别激活运动和抓取功能，激励磁场的频率和方向。演示了两种能够执行可控制的笔直和转弯运动的机器人：受千足虫启发的机器人，其双脚以有节奏的方式运动，以及六脚机器人，随着六脚架的交替步态，其具有六个磁脚。开发了两种类型的抓手：一种是靠有尾巴的尾巴启发的，另一种是类似花朵或水母的抓手。使用硅橡胶和磁性粉末的复合材料制造各种组件，并使用准静态模型和实验结果进行分析。通过实验说明了机器人的完全束缚运动和独立的抓取器致动。机器人的可操纵性通过遥控操纵实验得到证明，其中机器人在避开障碍物的情况下在工作空间中导航。