A comparative review of artificial muscles for microsystem applications

Shi, Miaojing; Yeatman, Eric M.

doi:10.1038/s41378-021-00323-5

Cited by 29 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 189 publications

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“…Hydrogen peroxide has been used in many soft robot systems, as it can be easily decomposed into gases by using catalysts at room temperature, and the fire has not been an issue yet. [ 22 ] One possible reason is that the water molecules produced together with the oxygen molecules may reduce the risk of fire significantly. Other monopropellant fuels, such as hydrazine, can also generate gas by themselves but is carcinogenic, which limits the use of these fuels in soft robots.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Chemical Pump that Generates High‐Pressure Gas by Transmitting Liquid Fuel against Pressure Gradient

Kim

Luo

Suo

2022

Advanced Intelligent Systems

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A pneumatic soft robot can be made autonomous by carrying a liquid chemical fuel. In the existing design, to transmit the fuel, the pressure of the fuel tank must exceed that of the actuator. Consequently, the fuel tank must be sufficiently stiff, which hardens the robot. Herein, inspired by pit membranes in trees, a chemical pump is developed, which is consisting of a nanoporous membrane between the fuel tank and the actuator, and coated with a catalyst on the side of the actuator. The fuel in the fuel tank migrates across the membrane and, on meeting the catalyst, decomposes into a pressurized gas and inflates the actuator. The chemical pump is driven by the free energy of reaction, against the difference in pressure. The pores in the membrane are large enough for the fuel molecules to migrate through, but small enough to block the pressurized gas to tunnel back. In a demonstration, the fuel tank has ambient pressure, and the actuator has a pressure of 350 kPa, comparable to the pressure in a car tire. The chemical pump enables pneumatic robots to be autonomous, powerful, and soft.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Chemical Pump that Generates High‐Pressure Gas by Transmitting Liquid Fuel against Pressure Gradient

Kim

Luo

Suo

2022

Advanced Intelligent Systems

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“…Emerging bio-inspired materials, for example, ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) and electroactive polymer artificial muscle (EPAM) ( Shi and Yeatman, 2021 ), offer great potential to produce the propulsion or bending forces required in many applications. The bending force of IPMC is generated by the effective redistribution of hydrated ions and water, which is best known as ionic-induced hydraulic actuation ( Chattaraj et al., 2014 ).…”

Section: Key Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced medical micro-robotics for early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions

Zhang

Gorochowski²,

Marucci³

et al. 2023

Front. Robot. AI

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Recent technological advances in micro-robotics have demonstrated their immense potential for biomedical applications. Emerging micro-robots have versatile sensing systems, flexible locomotion and dexterous manipulation capabilities that can significantly contribute to the healthcare system. Despite the appreciated and tangible benefits of medical micro-robotics, many challenges still remain. Here, we review the major challenges, current trends and significant achievements for developing versatile and intelligent micro-robotics with a focus on applications in early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. We also consider some recent emerging micro-robotic technologies that employ synthetic biology to support a new generation of living micro-robots. We expect to inspire future development of micro-robots toward clinical translation by identifying the roadblocks that need to be overcome.

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“…146 The application of artificial muscles to flying platforms is in an early stage of development, with a few notable examples in microscale applications. 147,148 The potential of widespread use is exemplified by an insect-sized flapping microrobot (Figure 7, 'Robotic Application') that uses a soft artificial muscle to power its wings. 144 The 155 mg flapping-wing robot uses a DEA to power its flight.…”

Section: Shape Memory Polymermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…compressible materials with high dielectric constant and low hysteresis) and fabrication methods. 151 As a result, extensive material development is still required to realize the full potential of artificial muscle integration, 142,146,148 especially at larger aerospace vehicle scales. One case study we can look at are artificial muscles in flapping robots, which we briefly discuss in the next section.…”

Section: Shape Memory Polymermentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird-inspired robotics principles as a framework for developing smart aerospace materials

Hoffmann

Chen

Cutkosky

et al. 2023

Journal of Composite Materials

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Birds are notable for their ability to seamlessly transition between different locomotory functions by dynamically leveraging their shape-shifting morphology. In contrast, the performance of aerial vehicles is constrained to a narrow flight envelope. To understand which functional morphological principles enable birds to successfully adapt to complex environments on the wing, engineers have started to develop biomimetic models of bird morphing flight, perching, aerial grasping and dynamic pursuit. These studies show how avian morphological capabilities are enabled by the biomaterial properties that make up their multifunctional biomechanical structures. The hierarchical structural design includes concepts like lightweight skeletons actuated by distributed muscles that shapeshift the body, informed by embedded sensing, combined with a soft streamlined external surface composed of thousands of overlapping feathers. In aerospace engineering, these functions are best replicated by smart materials, including composites, that incorporate sensing, actuation, communication, and computation. Here we provide a review of recently developed biohybrid, biomimetic, and bioinspired robot structural design principles. To inspire integrative smart material design, we first synthesize the new principles into an aerial robot concept to translate it into its aircraft equivalent. Promising aerospace applications include multifunctional morphing wing structures composed out of smart composites with embedded sensing, artificial muscles for robotic actuation, and fast actuating compliant structures with integrated sensors. The potential benefits of developing and mass-manufacturing these materials for future aerial robots and aircraft include improving flight performance, mission scope, and environmental resilience.

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A comparative review of artificial muscles for microsystem applications

Cited by 29 publications

References 189 publications

A Chemical Pump that Generates High‐Pressure Gas by Transmitting Liquid Fuel against Pressure Gradient

A Chemical Pump that Generates High‐Pressure Gas by Transmitting Liquid Fuel against Pressure Gradient

Advanced medical micro-robotics for early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions

Bird-inspired robotics principles as a framework for developing smart aerospace materials

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