On-demand orbital maneuver of multiple soft robots via hierarchical magnetomotility

Abstract

Magnetic soft robots facilitate the battery-free remote control of soft robots. However, parallel control of multiple magnetic robots is challenging due to interference between robots and difficult maneuvers. Here we present the orbital maneuvering of manifold magnetic soft robots. Magneto-induced motion (magnetomotility) that includes the hierarchy of rotation and resultant revolution allows for the independent control of the robot’s velocity and orbital radius. The soft robot achieves a speed of 60 body length (BL) s−1, which is approximately 50, 000 times faster with 1/7 the weight of the current lightest legged soft robot. The hierarchical magnetomotility is suitable for versatile locomotion such as stairs and uphill climbing, underwater and above water swimming. Owing to their swimming functionality, a swarm of such soft robots is capable of transportation of cargo. On-demand orbital maneuvering of magnetic soft robots provides a new methodology for concurrent actuation of multiple robots exhibiting collective behaviors.

Reconfiguration, Camouflage, and Color‐Shifting for Bioinspired Adaptive Hydrogel‐Based Millirobots

“…Inspired by these intelligent adaptations in nature, many efforts have been made on the exploration of various untethered small‐scale (from several centimeters down to nanometers in all dimensions) robots that can be driven by chemical fuels, light, acoustic radiation force, electrical and magnetic fields, etc. These actuation mechanisms have been employed to design various small‐sized, high‐speed, and motion‐controllable robots for environmental and biomedical applications .…”

An artificial aquatic polyp that wirelessly attracts, grasps, and releases objects

“…Hence, we integrate two stimuli-responsive materials which serve different functionalities and can be wirelessly and independently controlled; namely, light activates the liquid crystal network (LCN) gripper and a magnetic field induces rotational motion of the flexible stem to create flow. Previously, magnetic particles have been incorporated into hydrogel-based microgrippers (28,29) and thermoplastic polyurethane films (30) so that magnetic guidance can be used to direct and control the location of the device. However, magnetic setups required to accurately control such aquatic microgrippers are usually bulky, limiting the versatility of the soft robot (5,31).…”

Bioinspired light-driven soft robots based on liquid crystal polymers

“…To free soft robots from tethering to external or heavy on-board control units, stimuli-responsive polymers which undergo macroscopic deformations in response to remote triggers are of great interest. 1 In particular, light and magnetic fields have emerged as the most popular stimuli for controlling these mechanical deformations, 2 offering remote, non-destructive and precision actuation methods, with light having the advantage of not requiring bulky external magnetic setups.…”

“…Expansion towards multitasking soft robots, with locomotion as well as cargo transportation in a single device, and adaptability to diverse and changing environments are research goals which, if achieved, have the potential to revolutionize fields such as microfluidics and biomedicine. Realizing untethered soft robots calls for advancement in three areas: (1) understanding of fundamental photoactuation mechanisms, (2) design of novel advanced materials capable of sustained motion and programmable shape changes, and (3) the construction of communicating and orchestrated assemblies which can transform simple actuation modes, such as bending, into useful actions like walking, Fig. 1.…”