WP8 - Integration

Activities: This Task is devoted to integrate additive manufacturing mechanisms (WP5) with developed (WP4) or commercially available materials, together with software developed in WP6, as well as solutions for energy generation and harvesting (WP7). To optimize this fundamental phase, the integration will start at an early stage, thus allowing a redesign of some parts, if required, with the aim to improve their features and performance. Three different growing robots will be integrated and tested: 1) ivy-robot, resulting by the integration of Task 4.1 with Task 5.1 solutions and endowed with attachment abilities: 2) twiner-robot, which integrates the growing mechanism developed in Task 5.2 with the soft searcher of Task 5.3, and is able to perform circumnutations/tropisms and anchoring tasks; 3) a robot based on in-situ fabricated soft actuators for bending and elongation in relation to environmental changes. Expected diameter sizes are in the range of 2-4 cm. Expected growing velocity is in the order of mm/min for robots 1) and 3) and cm/min for robot 2). See Fig. 2 for an integrated view of the scenarios.

Expected results: The working GrowBot prototypes will be ready for basic tests to be done in T8.2.

Activities: This task will be devoted to test the robot functionalities, in preparation of the following experimental validation (WP9). This Task will be devoted to test growth and elongation of robots, attachment and anchoring strategies, to test the perception capabilities of the structural body and to verify circumnutation and tropisms.

The expected result is the robot ready for basic tests.

(expected in April, 2022)

Basic motions and perception test on the integrated robot.

(expected in June, 2022)