Swarming Microdroplets to a Dexterous Micromanipulator

Abstract

Many astonishing biological collective behaviors exist in nature, and artificial microrobotic swarms have been developed by emulating these scenarios. However, these microswarms typically have single structures and lack the adaptability that many biological swarms exhibit to thrive in complex environments. Inspired by viscoelastic fire ant aggregations and using a combination of experiment and simulation, a strategy to trigger ferrofluid droplets into forming microswarms exhibiting both liquid‐like and solid‐like behaviors is reported. By spatiotemporally programming an applied magnetic field, microswarms can be liquefied to implement reversible elongation with a high aspect ratio and solidified into entireties to perform overturning and bending behaviors. It is demonstrated that reconfigurability enables the microswarm to be a mobile dexterous micromanipulator, acting not only as a soft “octopus arm” to explore a confined environment and grasp a targeted object but also adaptively navigate multiple terrains, such as uneven surfaces, curved grooves, complex mazes, high steps, narrow channels, and even wide gaps. This microrobotic swarm can reconfigure both shapes and tasks based on the demands of the environment, presenting novel solutions for a variety of applications.

Magnetically Actuated Cell‐Robot System: Precise Control, Manipulation, and Multimode Conversion

“…This kind of group cooperation method to transport larger objects, similar to ants and bees in nature, can exert far more power than a single individual. [ 34,58 ]…”

“…Specifically, bees collaborate to work efficiently, ant colonies work together to carry larger objects, and a school of fish swim together to resist predators. In the microworld, a magnetically driven robot swarm is promising because the swarm has a flexible morphology, [32] can travel through narrow channels, [33,34] and can even be observed in real organisms. [35] However, the implementation of biocompatible and biofriendly robot swarms is still a challenge.Immune cells are widely known as excellent carriers for targeted drug delivery, [36][37][38][39][40] owing to their capability to be decorated with functional nanoparticles.…”

Bioinspired Multilegged Piezoelectric Robot: The Design Philosophy Aiming at High‐Performance Micromanipulation

“…Similar to the variable gaits of multilegged animals, it is a feasible way to fuse multiple operating modes to solve this contradiction. [38,39] To this end, we design three motion gaits: wobbling gait, slipping gait, and walking gait. With the help of the proposed functional module and collaborative operation, the robot can realize these three gaits on the same structure to accomplish multimode fusion.…”

Reconfigurable Magnetic Slime Robot: Deformation, Adaptability, and Multifunction

“…[16,17] Owing to its safety, precision, and fast response, an external magnetic field is a promising choice for actuating small-scale robots. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Thus ferrofluids require hydrophilic surfaces surrounded by waterbased solutions to maintain the shape of the spherical droplets without adhering to the substrate, [53] whereas liquid metals require alkaline or acidic solutions to preserve the form of spherical droplets without adhering to the substrate. [55,56] Therefore, it is necessary to combine the characteristics of large deformations of liquid-based robots with the complex interface adaptability of elastomer-based robots to create novel soft robots.…”