VINE Robot

Vine robots are a class of soft continuum robots capable of growth-based navigation in confined spaces. A major challenge is achieving real-time steering while preserving the robot’s lightweight, compliant body. This paper presents two steering architectures based on wrinkle induction with
adhesive tape: (1) an end-driven wrinkle inducer that creates wrinkles at the robot’s tip, and (2) a new base-driven multi- tape design where steering is generated proximally and the tip only manages growth. We provide a detailed description, modeling, and validation of both systems. Unified geometric models map wrinkle geometry to turn angles, and open-loop planners generate executable wrinkle sequences under discrete turn constraints. Comparative experiments show that the base- driven design reduces distal payload compared to adding tape at the tip, increases stability, enables variable steering angles, and demonstrates out-of-plane steering in free space with repeat-able open-loop performance, while the end-driven prototype demonstrates the feasibility of real-time wrinkle induction. The base-driven design enables deployment-time programming with a lightweight tip. Together, these results establish design trade-
offs and advance vine robot steering strategies toward practical multi-directional 3D navigation. The focus of this work is on actuation mechanisms, modeling, and experimental validation
rather than autonomy. All paths in this study are executed in open loop without trajectory feedback.