Design of antenna integrated soft robo￷cic worm for soil to air communica￷on

Theme:

Communication/Antenna Design

Application:

Environmentel Sensing

Contact Person:

Sujith Raman

External collabolator:

TU-Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Intorduction:

Short summary:

Design, prototype and evaluate a small soft robotic worm that can traverse soil and wirelessly communicate sensed data to a surface receiver. The robot should integrate a soil-robust antenna (filtenna or small monopole/loop) and low-power telemetry, while maintaining soft-robot locomotion and survivability in varying soil conditions. Demonstrate proof-of-concept lab tests showing mobility, communication range, and sensing (e.g., moisture or temperature).

Description:

Main objectives:
- Soft robot design & fabrication: Create a small soft robotic worm capable of inchworm/undulatory/peristaltic locomotion in loose soil or controlled phantoms.
- Integrated antenna design: Design an antenna or filtenna compatible with burial (chosen band 433/868 MHz or 2.4 GHz depending on size/penetration tradeoff) and integrate it mechanically/electrically with the soft body.
- Electronics & comms: Implement a low-power sensing and transmit system (microcontroller + transceiver), with duty-cycling suitable for exploratory use.
- Experimental validation: Test mobility, communication (RSSI, packet loss), and sensing accuracy across varied soil types/depths; quantify tradeoffs.
- Reporting & demonstration: Deliver a prototype, datasets, analysis, and a short demo showing buried robot sending data to a surface receiver.

Research questions / Hypotheses:
Can a soft worm locomote effectively in representative soil/phantom while housing RF electronics and an antenna?
Which RF band and antenna topology achieve the best soil-to-surface communication for the given robot size?
How does robot posture and surrounding soil permittivity affect antenna performance, and can antenna placement be optimized to maintain communication without sacrificing mobility?

Requirements:

• Disciplines: Soft robotics, Antenna/RF engineering, Environmental sensing

Additional Info