back Back

Soft robots steered by light swim in viscous fluids

Oct. 18, 2024.
2 mins. read. 10 Interactions

Researchers have developed a soft toroidal micro-robot with light-steerable motion in a variety of viscous fluid environments.

About the Writer

Giulio Prisco

73.32596 MPXR

Giulio Prisco is Senior Editor at Mindplex. He is a science and technology writer mainly interested in fundamental science and space, cybernetics and AI, IT, VR, bio/nano, crypto technologies.

Researchers at Tampere University and Anhui Jianzhu University have developed a new type of soft robot that can swim by itself in thick liquids. The researchers consider this a breakthrough in soft robotics.

This soft toroidal micro-robot, shaped like a doughnut and made with flexible materials, can move and adapt to its surroundings. Unlike hard robots, soft robots can squeeze through small spaces and handle delicate tasks.

The main goal of this micro-robot is to navigate through viscous liquids. Viscous liquids are thick and sticky, like honey or syrup. Many industries need to work with such liquids, and having a robot that can move in them can make processes easier and safer.

The liquid crystalline elastomeric toroidal submarines can start swimming in honey when laser beams are directed at them (Credit: Hao Zeng, Tampere University).

The researchers describe the new micro-robot in a paper published in Nature Materials. The robot pushes itself forward by moving its body under constant light illumination.

The researchers used a synthetic material known as liquid crystalline elastomer, which reacts to stimuli like lasers.

The micro-robot moves spontaneously under constant exposure to light or heat. Exploiting dynamic friction or drag forces makes it possible to obtain light-steerable motion in a variety of fluid environments.

Applications and future research

“The implications of this research extend beyond robotics, potentially impacting fields such as medicine and environmental monitoring,” says researcher Zixuan Deng in a Tampere University press release.

Deng adds that the device could transport drugs through physiological mucus and unblock blood vessels.

Deng believes that future research will explore the interactions and collective dynamics of multiple robots, potentially leading to new methods of communication between intelligent microrobots.

There is, indeed, a project to explore “lifelike material structures that communicate with each other via physical contact, fluidic media or optical beams.”

The project’s goal is “to design soft robots that sustain their own movement, make their own decisions and adapt to their environmental conditions, without human control.”

Let us know your thoughts! Sign up for a Mindplex account now, join our Telegram, or follow us on Twitter

Comment on this content

0 Comments

0 thoughts on “Soft robots steered by light swim in viscous fluids

6

Like

Dislike

Share

Comments
Reactions
💯 💘 😍 🎉 👏
🟨 😴 😡 🤮 💩

Here is where you pick your favorite article of the month. An article that collected the highest number of picks is dubbed "People's Choice". Our editors have their pick, and so do you. Read some of our other articles before you decide and click this button; you can only select one article every month.

People's Choice
Bookmarks