Computational design and fabrication of modular robots with untethered control
Bhargava M, Hiraki T, Strugaru I-M, Zhang Y, Piovarci M, Daraio C, Iwai D, Bickel B. Computational design and fabrication of modular robots with untethered control. arXiv, 10.48550/arXiv.2508.05410.
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Author
Bhargava, ManasISTA
;
Hiraki, Takefumi;
Strugaru, Irina-MalinaISTA;
Zhang, Yuhan;
Piovarci, MichalISTA
;
Daraio, Chiara;
Iwai, Daisuke;
Bickel, BerndISTA 



Corresponding author has ISTA affiliation
Department
Abstract
Natural organisms utilize distributed actuation through their musculoskeletal
systems to adapt their gait for traversing diverse terrains or to morph their
bodies for varied tasks. A longstanding challenge in robotics is to emulate
this capability of natural organisms, which has motivated the development of
numerous soft robotic systems. However, such systems are generally optimized
for a single functionality, lack the ability to change form or function on
demand, or remain tethered to bulky control systems. To address these
limitations, we present a framework for designing and controlling robots that
utilize distributed actuation. We propose a novel building block that
integrates 3D-printed bones with liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) muscles as
lightweight actuators, enabling the modular assembly of musculoskeletal robots.
We developed LCE rods that contract in response to infrared radiation, thereby
providing localized, untethered control over the distributed skeletal network
and producing global deformations of the robot. To fully capitalize on the
extensive design space, we introduce two computational tools: one for
optimizing the robot's skeletal graph to achieve multiple target deformations,
and another for co-optimizing skeletal designs and control gaits to realize
desired locomotion. We validate our framework by constructing several robots
that demonstrate complex shape morphing, diverse control schemes, and
environmental adaptability. Our system integrates advances in modular material
building, untethered and distributed control, and computational design to
introduce a new generation of robots that brings us closer to the capabilities
of living organisms.
Publishing Year
Date Published
2025-08-31
Journal Title
arXiv
Acknowledgement
The authors express gratitude to Magali Lorion for assisting in the initial fabrication of LCEs,
Pengbin Tang for providing the code for simulating discrete elastic rods, the Imaging and
Optics Facility at ISTA for assisting with the spectrometry measurements, and the MIBA
machine shop at ISTA for their support in manufacturing various devices.
Funding: This project was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under
the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No.
715767 -– MATERIALIZABLE).
IST-REx-ID
Cite this
Bhargava M, Hiraki T, Strugaru I-M, et al. Computational design and fabrication of modular robots with untethered control. arXiv. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2508.05410
Bhargava, M., Hiraki, T., Strugaru, I.-M., Zhang, Y., Piovarci, M., Daraio, C., … Bickel, B. (n.d.). Computational design and fabrication of modular robots with untethered control. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2508.05410
Bhargava, Manas, Takefumi Hiraki, Irina-Malina Strugaru, Yuhan Zhang, Michael Piovarci, Chiara Daraio, Daisuke Iwai, and Bernd Bickel. “Computational Design and Fabrication of Modular Robots with Untethered Control.” ArXiv, n.d. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2508.05410.
M. Bhargava et al., “Computational design and fabrication of modular robots with untethered control,” arXiv. .
Bhargava M, Hiraki T, Strugaru I-M, Zhang Y, Piovarci M, Daraio C, Iwai D, Bickel B. Computational design and fabrication of modular robots with untethered control. arXiv, 10.48550/arXiv.2508.05410.
Bhargava, Manas, et al. “Computational Design and Fabrication of Modular Robots with Untethered Control.” ArXiv, doi:10.48550/arXiv.2508.05410.
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