Suitability of silicone for soft-robotic exploration of terrestrial and extraterrestrial ocean worlds
Open accessAbstract
This work revisits relevant mechanical and chemical properties of silicone rubber — Ecoflex in this study — to assess its suitability and viability for use in soft-robotic explorer construction and subsequent deployment and as a sealant for communication beacons, sensor pods, and other electronics in extreme planetary liquid environments, such as the depths of Earth’s oceans and extraterrestrial ocean worlds. Strain at a range of temperatures, as an indicator for operational durability, was tested under various endpoint clamp forces for several compound ratios. The temperature range at which silicone rubber remains pliable was assessed to determine its deployability. The re-binding property of cured silicone rubber samples with newly curing samples was investigated for its potential for additive manufacturing in soft robotics. Finally, the dissolution resistance, non-polarity, and electrical non-conductivity of silicone rubber were studied to assess its suitability for sealing electronics to be submerged in the salt water of both ocean and saturated salinity, as well as in hydrocarbon liquids. This work highlights critical aspects of silicone rubber for use in the construction, coating, and deployment of future soft robotic extraterrestrial liquid body explorers: The chosen silicone rubber Ecoflex is an electrically non-conducting sealant and pliable soft robotics material for temperatures above 50 °C, deployable in earthly extreme aqueous environments. Moreover, this work lays the foundation, albeit likely with different (silicone) rubbers/polymers due to much lower temperatures, for the robotic exploration of extraterrestrial liquid environments on ocean worlds, such as the hydrocarbon lakes on Titan and the putative subsurface oceans on Europa, Titan, and Enceladus.
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These stresses corrode materials, disrupt electronics, and shorten operational lifespans.
“These stresses corrode materials, disrupt electronics, and shorten operational lifespans (Hawkes et al., 2017; Lu et al., 2018; Zuniga and Fink, 2023).”
From Wetware network-based AI: a chemical approach to embodied cognition for robotics and artificial intelligence (2026) · cites this paper as Zuniga and Fink, 2023
Section 4.5 describes degradation or corrosion through dissolution as a concern for materials exposed to water and salt water, while §4.6 identifies short-circuiting as a risk to electronics in conductive liquids. The paper reports that Ecoflex protected against those risks in its tests; it does not establish that the stresses shortened operational lifespans. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredExtreme conditions such as high salinity, electromagnetic interference, and rapid temperature shifts can degrade soft robot performance.
“extreme conditions such as high salinity, electromagnetic interference, and rapid temperature shifts can degrade performance.”
From Wetware network-based AI: a chemical approach to embodied cognition for robotics and artificial intelligence (2026) · cites this paper as Zuniga and Fink, 2023
The Figure 6 caption in Discussion & Conclusions shows Ecoflex breaking after exposure to −196 °C, supporting a limited point about extreme temperature impairing the material—not about rapid temperature shifts. Sections 4.5–4.6 instead report no degradation in salt water, including continuous beacon communication for at least 21 days at saturated salinity. No passage found attributes degraded performance to electromagnetic interference. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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Cites
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Sorted by citations
Fink, W., Fuhrman, C., Zuniga, A. N., & Tarbell, M. A. (2023) · Advances in Space Research · doi:10.1016/j.asr.2023.02.012 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
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“These stresses corrode materials, disrupt electronics, and shorten operational lifespans (Hawkes et al., 2017; Lu et al., 2018; Zuniga and Fink, 2023).”
A holographic GRIN lens for broadband, highly directive, and aberration-free echo detection
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- Authors
- Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory University of Arizona, NUNCIO ZUNIGA, A., FINK, W., & Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory University of Arizona
- Affiliations
- University of Arizona (US)
- Corresponding author
- FINK, W.
- Venue
- Kosmìčna nauka ì tehnologìâ
- Published
- 2023-06-09
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 47-56
- ISSN
- 1561-8889 (ISSN-L)
- 2518-1459
- OpenAlex
- W4383669837
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Kosmìčna nauka ì tehnologìâ (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1809591)
- University of Arizona
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM132008)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Soft Robotics and Applications
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Elasticity and Material Modeling
- Keywords
- silicone rubber, Ecoflex, soft robotics, liquid environment, sealants, temperature range, additive manufacturing, dissolution resistance, Enceladus, deep-sea exploration, deployable robots
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