The Family that Grips Together, Sticks Together

Friday afternoon Andrew came home and told us about the adjusted game plan for the grant he is working on. It included making lots of soft robots so he could become more of an expert and know how to help teachers avoid common pitfalls so that their students can be successful and build their confidence.  He threw out the idea of mass producing them in his office during the week, and I suggested he bring them home and we would work on the project together on Saturday.  The goal was to create a few different variations of the robot and see which one could pick up objects most successfully with its gripper fingers. After an enthusiastic, “The family that grips together, sticks together!” from Andrew, it only took a few minutes for him and Emily to run off to campus to gather supplies.

Saturday morning the fun began. First we took the molds that Andrew 3D printed and created three different designs for the robots. Emily called the molds airplanes and flew them all around.

We then mixed the two parts silicon together and poured it into the molds.

One of the problems with making soft robots is air bubbles that form on or near the surface create weak spots that easily pop when we blow air into the robot, rendering it useless. Andrew had the idea to pop them with a toothpick. He also watched during the curing process, which we sped up in a toaster oven, and tried to pop or pour more silicon over the forming air bubbles.

I walked into the kitchen after putting kids down for a nap to find him intently watching the slow process. He caught me trying to sneak a picture of his dedication.

Once the top of the robot was cured, we laid a piece of fabric down and poured more silicon onto that and then placed the robot body on top. Andrew made sure it was sealed tightly around the edges.

We poked holes into the center of the robot where the air channels are and inserted a tube attached to a little air pump.  They go from looking like a x shape to a sea creature that is alive.

Emily was okay with the no added air state, but once it started to come alive she would say over and over, “Emily not like it.” and back as far away as possible.  After a few hours she sneakily grabbed some tubing and robot, assembling the apparatus herself. We thought she would overcome her dislike with complete control over the situation but she was still not a fan.

Saturday is also bath night and we decided to get our after bath fish face family picture updated.