IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

Jee Hwan Ryu - "Soft Growing Robots: From Disaster Response to Colonoscopy"

Jee Hwan Ryu presented the latest advances in soft‑growing "vine" robots, machines that extend their bodies by everting material rather than moving a rigid chassis. This eversion‑based locomotion lets the robot slip through tight, slippery or even vertical passages, making it a promising tool for both post‑disaster search‑and‑rescue and minimally invasive medical procedures. The research tackles three technical hurdles: steering, tip‑mount stability, and reliable retraction. Ryu’s team favors whole‑body steering, using artificial‑muscle actuators wrapped around the robot to induce curvature, while avoiding complex tip‑joint mechanisms. To keep a camera or sensor at the tip during rapid growth, they introduced an origami‑folded material‑feeding system that separates the cable channel from the eversion stream, preventing the cable from being engulfed. A simple internal retraction channel, activated by pressurizing a sealed ring, enables the robot to pull itself back without external pulling forces. Demonstrations included a portable disaster‑response prototype that could navigate a collapsed‑building mockup, deliver a water bottle, and transmit live video—all from a compact control box. In collaboration with clinicians, the same platform was adapted for colonoscopy, showing safe, low‑force navigation through animal intestines and rapid self‑retraction. A separate self‑wearing garment project illustrated the robot’s potential for assistive clothing, leveraging its unfolding motion to dress users with limited mobility. If the challenges of sharp intestinal bends and reliable tip‑tool integration are resolved, vine robots could revolutionize emergency response by reaching victims in confined rubble and transform endoscopic procedures by reducing patient discomfort and infection risk. Their modular, low‑pressure design also opens avenues in wearable robotics and other soft‑automation fields.