Using Social Networking to Crowdsource Control Strategies for Soft Robots

A web-based platform for a soft-bodied robot was developed. Users could sign in with their social media accounts in order to sign up for 30 minute times slots to control the robot. While users were controlling the robot, competing for fastest time from start to finish, I collected information on what controls they were inputting and also tracked the robot as it traversed the arena. It was determined that while a critical number of users was not reached, preventing the fastest controls from being determined, users averaged a 1.351 s actuation time for SMA1, a phase gap of 0.554 s, and an actuation time of 1.174 s for SMA2. The magnitude of the Softworm's velocity was an order of magnitude smaller than expected, and the reason for that was not determined. However, the SoftRobotics website did demonstrate that crowdsourcing can provide an avenue for solving control problems for soft robots.