CopyCut Robots: Analog and Digital Workflow for Sustainable Soft Robot Design

Timothy Merritt, Stine Schmieg Johansen

Aalborg University

2nd International Workshop on Cultural Robotics @ ACM/IEEE HRI 2025 · 2025

Poster: White portrait poster with navy heading bars. Left column of summary text and references; right, a yellow-and-green flowchart of analog and digital processes. Bottom row of photos: a ceiling camera over a CNC cutter, cut-out shapes and a cardboard milk-carton robot.
Poster as presented, 2500 × 3520 px. Select it to zoom and pan.

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From the poster

Sustainability in robotics requires rethinking fabrication, prototyping, and material use to minimize waste and support design space exploration [1,2].

We explore, how digital fabrication techniques utilizing the CopyCut! system, which combines computer vision with CNC cutting—can support sustainable ideation, prototyping, and construction of soft robots.

We demonstrate workflows that move between the digital and analog processes and then experimented with novel ways of leveraging material reuse, rapid iteration, and creative customization in robotic development.

Through hands-on sessions, discussions, and participant-driven design exercises, designers we will examine how such approaches enhance both environmental responsibility and design processes in prototyping for soft robotics.

We aim to gather insights from the creative use of the system in analog and digital workflows and invite researchers, designers, and educators in shaping a sustainable future for robotics by exploring the intersection of digital fabrication, material efficiency, and robotic design.

Cite this

cite --format=bibtex merritt2025copycut

@misc{merritt2025copycut, title = {CopyCut Robots: Analog and Digital Workflow for Sustainable Soft Robot Design}, author = {Timothy Merritt and Stine Schmieg Johansen}, howpublished = {Poster, 2nd International Workshop on Cultural Robotics @ ACM/IEEE HRI 2025}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.culturebots.org/publications/hri2025-poster-02/} }