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Ramos Docampo MA. Magnetic motors in interphases: Motion control and integration in soft robots. Biointerphases 2024; 19:048502. [PMID: 38994898 DOI: 10.1116/6.0003637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Magnetic motors are a class of out-of-equilibrium particles that exhibit controlled and fast motion overcoming Brownian fluctuations by harnessing external magnetic fields. The advances in this field resulted in motors that have been used for different applications, such as biomedicine or environmental remediation. In this Perspective, an overview of the recent advancements of magnetic motors is provided, with a special focus on controlled motion. This aspect extends from trapping, steering, and guidance to organized motor grouping and degrouping, which is known as swarm control. Further, the integration of magnetic motors in soft robots to actuate their motion is also discussed. Finally, some remarks and perspectives of the field are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel A Ramos Docampo
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Gustav Wieds Vej 14, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
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Liao X, Zhou C, Cheng L, Wang J, Fan J, Zhang Z. A Fast Online Elastic-Spine-Based Stiffness Adjusting Mechanism for Fishlike Swimming. Soft Robot 2024. [PMID: 38648291 DOI: 10.1089/soro.2023.0204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Fish tunes fishtail stiffness by coordinating its tendons, muscles, and other tissues to improve swimming performance. For robotic fish, achieving a fast and online fishlike stiffness adjustment over a large-scale range is of great significance for performance improvement. This article proposes an elastic-spine-based variable stiffness robotic fish, which adopts spring steel to emulate the fish spine, and its stiffness is adjusted by tuning the effective length of the elastic spine. The stiffness can be switched in the maximum adjustable range within 0.26 s. To optimize the motion performance of robotic fish by adjusting fishtail stiffness, a Kane-based dynamic model is proposed, based on which the stiffness adjustment strategy for multistage swimming is constructed. Simulations and experiments are conducted, including performance measurements and analyses in terms of swimming speed, thrust, and so on, and online stiffness adjustment-based multistage swimming, which verifies the feasibility of the proposed variable stiffness robotic fish. The maximum speed and lowest cost of transport for robotic fish are 0.43 m/s (equivalent to 0.81 BL/s) and 7.14 J/(kg·m), respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaocun Liao
- Laboratory of Cognition and Decision Intelligence for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Zhou
- Laboratory of Cognition and Decision Intelligence for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Long Cheng
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jian Wang
- Laboratory of Cognition and Decision Intelligence for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Junfeng Fan
- Laboratory of Cognition and Decision Intelligence for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuoliang Zhang
- Laboratory of Cognition and Decision Intelligence for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Sabbadini A, Atalla MA, Wiertlewski M. Simple and Fast Locomotion of Vibrating Asymmetric Soft Robots. Soft Robot 2023; 10:1199-1208. [PMID: 37471204 DOI: 10.1089/soro.2022.0209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
To be fully integrated into the activities of our daily lives, robots need to be capable of traversing unstructured environments and interacting safely with their surroundings. Soft robots are perfect candidates since they can adapt to their surroundings through passive material compliance, rather than relying on complex control. However, the same compliance hinders the generation of propelling forces, and current approaches face a trade-off between traveling speed, action range, and control complexity. We overcome this trade-off by developing a locomotion mechanism based on the synergistic interaction between symmetric vibrations, elasticity, and asymmetric morphology. We then realize a rapid soft locomotor using inexpensive off-the-shelf components and requiring only elementary actuation and control. A single robotic unit can travel at speeds up to 100 mm/s when tethered and 35 mm/s when untethered. We derive a model that predicts the speed of the robot as a function of several design parameters and physical properties, highlighting the role of geometric asymmetries in the resulting anisotropic motion. Moreover, these elementary units can be added together to create more complex behaviors. By adding 2 units in parallel, the assembly can locomote and be steered following nonholonomic constraints. Our approach opens the door to a new class of low-cost soft robots that can travel fast and far with elementary fabrication and control, and which can be combined to achieve complex functions without compromising their essential simplicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberico Sabbadini
- Department of Mechanical, Maritime, and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mostafa A Atalla
- Department of Mechanical, Maritime, and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Michaël Wiertlewski
- Department of Mechanical, Maritime, and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
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Xu S, Xu T, Li D, Yang C, Huang C, Wu X. A Robot Motion Learning Method Using Broad Learning System Verified by Small-Scale Fish-Like Robot. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CYBERNETICS 2023; 53:6053-6065. [PMID: 37155383 DOI: 10.1109/tcyb.2023.3269773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The widespread application of learning-based methods in robotics has allowed significant simplifications to controller design and parameter adjustment. In this article, robot motion is controlled with learning-based methods. A control policy using a broad learning system (BLS) for robot point-reaching motion is developed. A sample application based on a magnetic small-scale robotic system is designed without detailed mathematical modeling of the dynamic systems. The parameter constraints of the nodes in the BLS-based controller are derived based on Lyapunov theory. The design and control training processes for a small-scale magnetic fish motion are presented. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by convergence of the artificial magnetic fish motion to the targeted area with the BLS trajectory, successfully avoiding obstacles.
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Mechanical responses of soft magnetic robots with various geometric shapes: locomotion and deformation. ROBOTICA 2022. [DOI: 10.1017/s0263574722001631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Soft magnetic robots have attracted tremendous interest owning to their controllability and manoeuvrability, demonstrating great prospects in a number of industrial areas. However, further explorations on the locomotion and corresponding deformation of magnetic robots with complex configurations are still challenging. In the present study, we analyse a series of soft magnetic robots with various geometric shapes under the action of the magnetic field. First, we prepared the matrix material for the robot, that is, the mixture of silicone and magnetic particles. Next, we fabricated a triangular robot whose locomotion speed and warping speed are approximately 1.5 and 9 mm/s, respectively. We then surveyed the generalised types of robots with other shapes, where the movement, grabbing, closure and flipping behaviours were fully demonstrated. The experiments show that the arching speed and grabbing speed of the cross-shaped robot are around 4.8 and 3.5 mm/s, the crawling speed of the pentagram-shaped robot is 3.5 mm/s, the pentahedron-shaped robot can finish its closure motion in 1 s and the arch-shaped robot can flip forward and backward in 0.5 s. The numerical simulation based on the finite element method has been compared with the experimental results, and they are in excellent agreement. The results are beneficial to engineer soft robots under the multi-fields, which can broaden the eyes on inventing intellectual devices and equipment.
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Bhattacharjee A, Jabbarzadeh M, Kararsiz G, Fu HC, Kim MJ. Bacteria-inspired magnetically actuated rod-like soft robot in viscous fluids. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2022; 17:065001. [PMID: 35926485 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac870f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This paper seeks to design, develop, and explore the locomotive dynamics and morphological adaptability of a bacteria-inspired rod-like soft robot propelled in highly viscous Newtonian fluids. The soft robots were fabricated as tapered, hollow rod-like soft scaffolds by applying a robust and economic molding technique to a polyacrylamide-based hydrogel polymer. Cylindrical micro-magnets were embedded in both ends of the soft scaffolds, which allowed bending (deformation) and actuation under a uniform rotating magnetic field. We demonstrated that the tapered rod-like soft robot in viscous Newtonian fluids could perform two types of propulsion; boundary rolling was displayed when the soft robot was located near a boundary, and swimming was displayed far away from the boundary. In addition, we performed numerical simulations to understand the swimming propulsion along the rotating axis and the way in which this propulsion is affected by the soft robot's design, rotation frequency, and fluid viscosity. Our results suggest that a simple geometrical asymmetry enables the rod-like soft robot to perform propulsion in the low Reynolds number (Re≪ 1) regime; these promising results provide essential insights into the improvements that must be made to integrate the soft robots into minimally invasivein vivoapplications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuruddha Bhattacharjee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75205, United States of America
| | - Mehdi Jabbarzadeh
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, United States of America
| | - Gokhan Kararsiz
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75205, United States of America
| | - Henry C Fu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, United States of America
| | - Min Jun Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75205, United States of America
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Wen L, Sun W. Editorial: Focus on research from China in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2022; 17:030202. [PMID: 35297381 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac5e82] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Li Wen
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, People's Republic of China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenguang Sun
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, People's Republic of China
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Zhang S, Yin M, Lai Z, Huang C, Wang C, Shang W, Wu X, Zhang Y, Xu T. Design and Characteristics of 3D Magnetically Steerable Guidewire System for Minimally Invasive Surgery. IEEE Robot Autom Lett 2022. [DOI: 10.1109/lra.2022.3146909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Huang C, Lai Z, Wu X, Xu T. Multimodal Locomotion and Cargo Transportation of Magnetically Actuated Quadruped Soft Microrobots. CYBORG AND BIONIC SYSTEMS 2022; 2022:0004. [PMID: 36924475 PMCID: PMC10010670 DOI: 10.34133/cbsystems.0004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Untethered microrobots have attracted extensive attention due to their potential for biomedical applications and micromanipulation at the small scale. Soft microrobots are of great research importance because of their highly deformable ability to achieve not only multiple locomotion mechanisms but also minimal invasion to the environment. However, the existing microrobots are still limited in their ability to locomote and cross obstacles in unstructured environments compared to conventional legged robots. Nature provides much inspiration for developing miniature robots. Here, we propose a bionic quadruped soft thin-film microrobot with a nonmagnetic soft body and 4 magnetic flexible legs. The quadruped soft microrobot can achieve multiple controllable locomotion modes in the external magnetic field. The experiment demonstrated the robot's excellent obstacle-crossing ability by walking on the surface with steps and moving in the bottom of a stomach model with gullies. In particular, by controlling the conical angle of the external conical magnetic field, microbeads gripping, transportation, and release of the microrobot were demonstrated. In the future, the quadruped microrobot with excellent obstacle-crossing and gripping capabilities will be relevant for biomedical applications and micromanipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyang Huang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,SIAT Branch, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen 518055, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhengyu Lai
- Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,SIAT Branch, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen 518055, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xinyu Wu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,SIAT Branch, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Tiantian Xu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Robotics and Intelligent System, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,SIAT Branch, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen 518055, China
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