%A Fishman,Aaron %A Garrad,Martin Stephen %A Hinitt,Andrew %A Zanini,Plinio %A Barker,Tim %A Rossiter,Jonathan %D 2017 %J Frontiers in Robotics and AI %C %F %G English %K Variable-length,Pneumatic,Robosoft,Anisotropic-Stiffness,soft robotics %Q %R 10.3389/frobt.2016.00080 %W %L %M %P %7 %8 2017-February-01 %9 Original Research %+ Aaron Fishman,Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol,UK,aaron.fishman@bristol.ac.uk %+ Aaron Fishman,Bristol Robotics Laboratory,UK,aaron.fishman@bristol.ac.uk %# %! Anisotropic Structural Stiffness for Soft Robotics %* %< %T A Compliant Telescopic Limb with Anisotropic Stiffness %U https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2016.00080 %V 3 %0 JOURNAL ARTICLE %@ 2296-9144 %X Soft limbs with anisotropic stiffness are common in nature and enable animals to solve a variety of tasks, including locomotion and manipulation. This mixture of hardness and softness enables animals to efficiently control the unpredictable contact forces that occur while performing such tasks. A challenge for soft robotics is to create artificial limbs that mimic natural mixtures of hardness and softness for use as a building block for soft, adaptable robots. This article presents the design of a novel pneumatic limb module with adjustable length and anisotropic stiffness. The artificial limb is designed with a rigid telescopic endoskeleton inside a rubber bellow, which we show is able to resist buckling, while remaining externally soft. Finally, we present the design of a hexapod walker based on the limb units.