A 3D‐Printed Auxetic Metamaterial Robot for Adaptive Navigation in Pipelines With Complex Geometries

ABSTRACT

Navigation within complex pipelines in sectors such as construction, mining, and underwater exploration presents significant demands on robotic adaptability and maneuverability. While traditional soft robots achieve such navigation through large material deformations, they face an inherent conflict between deformation capacity and structural rigidity, which hinders the simultaneous attainment of high traversability and strong load‐bearing capacity. To address this limitation, we propose a novel structural framework to overcome existing constraints of pipeline robots through integrating the characteristics of auxetic metamaterials. Firstly, the proposed robot is monolithically fabricated via 3D printing techniques. The mechanical properties of the printing material are characterized through quasi‐static tensile tests. Subsequently, the deformation behavior of the robotic body is analyzed and compared between numerical and experimental methods. Ultimately, the robot's navigation through complex pipelines is simulated and compared with physical pipe‐passing tests. The results demonstrate that during navigation in complex pipelines, the auxetic structure of the robot deforms radially, which releases circumferential pressures. This pressure release thereby reduces motion resistance, enhancing the robot's overall maneuverability. The findings of this work transcend the performance limitations of rigid materials, thereby offering a viable pathway for robotic navigation within the complex piping networks.