The world's first fully-automated self-propelled robot replacing "electrical" with "pneumatic" |
Lei Feng Network (search "Lei Feng Network" public concern): This article comes from Harvard News, author Leah Burrows , compiled by Lei Feng network exclusive, refused to reprint without permission!
For a long time, the robotics community has been hoping to create robots made of soft materials, but the development of flexible energy supply and control components has always been difficult. For example, many researchers are now developing flexible batteries and circuit boards.
Recently, however, researchers at Harvard University have taken different approaches. They have taken the initiative to create the world's first fully-soft and self-driven robot . The “small octopus†in the figure below can be run independently 4 ~8 minutes.
In the August 24 issue of the journal Nature, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering published an "Integrated Design and Manufacturing Strategy for Full-Soft Autonomous Robots" ( An integrated design and The preparation strategy for completely soft, autonomous robots ) paper, the paper has 7 co-authors, Professor Robert Wood and Jennifer Lewis are the leaders of the research.
Before Lei Fengnet reported that the software caterpillar robot built by the Polish team, its material is indeed all soft, but it is not self-driven. "Caterpillars" are made of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs). LCEs cause the robot to move as the light deforms, so if you want to let it move, you need to artificially control the outside light source.
This all-soft "small octopus" is self-driven and does not require any external control or stimulation.
From the dynamic diagram, this “small octopus†doesn’t seem to be very sensitive. The slow change of legs makes it look “stupid,†but its truly landmark feature is: in the absence of batteries and circuit boards. Next, self-driven . Specifically, it is not traditional "electrical" but "pneumatic."
The “small octopus†is powered by a chemical reaction in the body. In this chemical reaction, a small amount of hydrogen peroxide is converted into a large amount of gas. These gases flow into the “small octopus†arm and inflate the arm to induce movement.
"The energy-supplying elements of the software robot have been unable to escape certain hard materials. The best part of hydrogen peroxide is that it is a very simple chemical reaction, which allows us to replace the previous hard-powered components." One of Michael Wehner said.
In addition, it is even more impressive that its entire microfluidic network can "self-feedback ." Look at the following microfluidic logic circuit dynamic diagram: The blue and red lines control the different arms. After the blue arm is inflated, the feedback is returned and the red arm is automatically inflated.
This simulates a simple electronic oscillator (an electronic circuit used to generate an electronic circuit with a periodic analog signal) to control the timing of the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and achieve self-drive.
In addition, the entire system is very simple to manufacture, it combines three manufacturing methods: soft lithography, molding and 3D printing. The various components needed inside, including fuel tanks, drives and stimuli, can be produced very quickly.
The simplicity of the integration process opens the way for more complex designs. Next, the team hopes to design an upgraded “small octopus†that can climb, swim, and interact with the surrounding environment.
This "small octopus" may be opening the door to a new generation of software robots.
Via Harvard News
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