StarBlocks: Soft Actuated Self-Connecting Blocks for Building Deformable Lattice Structures
Luyang Zhao, Yijia Wu, Wenzhong Yan, Weishu Zhan, Xiaonan Huang, Joran Booth, Ankur Mehta, Kostas E. Bekris, Rebecca Kramer‐Bottiglio, Devin Balkcom
Abstract
In this paper, we present a soft modular block inspired by tensegrity structures that can form load-bearing structures through self-assembly. The block comprises a stellated compliant skeleton, shape memory alloy muscles, and permanent magnet connectors. We classify five deformation primitives for individual blocks: bend, compress, stretch, stand, and shrink, which can be combined across modules to reason about full-lattice deformation. Hierarchical function is abundant in nature and in human-designed systems. Using multiple self-assembled lattices, we demonstrate the formation and actuation of 3-dimensional shapes, including a load-bearing pop-up tent, a self-assembled wheel, a quadruped, a block-based robotic arm with gripper, and non-prehensile manipulation. To our knowledge, this is the first example of active deformable modules (blocks) that can reconfigure into different load-bearing structures on-demand.