Spreadable Magnetic Soft Robots with On-Demand Hardening
Magnetically actuated mobile robots demonstrate attractive advantages in various medical applications due to their wireless and programmable executions with tiny sizes. Confronted with complex application scenarios, however, it requires more flexible and adaptive deployment and utilization methods t...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Research |
| Online Access: | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0262 |
| _version_ | 1797280972405735424 |
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| author | Zichen Xu Yuanhe Chen Qingsong Xu |
| author_facet | Zichen Xu Yuanhe Chen Qingsong Xu |
| author_sort | Zichen Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Magnetically actuated mobile robots demonstrate attractive advantages in various medical applications due to their wireless and programmable executions with tiny sizes. Confronted with complex application scenarios, however, it requires more flexible and adaptive deployment and utilization methods to fully exploit the functionalities brought by magnetic robots. Herein, we report a design and utilization strategy of magnetic soft robots using a mixture of magnetic particles and non-Newtonian fluidic soft materials to produce programmable, hardened, adhesive, reconfigurable soft robots. For deployment, their ultrasoft structure and adhesion enable them to be spread on various surfaces, achieving magnetic actuation empowerment. The reported technology can potentially improve the functionality of robotic end-effectors and functional surfaces. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed robots could help to grasp and actuate objects 300 times heavier than their weight. Furthermore, it is the first time we have enhanced the stiffness of mechanical structures for these soft materials by on-demand programmable hardening, enabling the robots to maximize force outputs. These findings offer a promising path to understanding, designing, and leveraging magnetic robots for more powerful applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T16:48:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b0be376162e411cb7ee27a13871ca2d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2639-5274 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T16:48:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b0be376162e411cb7ee27a13871ca2d2024-03-03T05:54:47ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Research2639-52742023-01-01610.34133/research.0262Spreadable Magnetic Soft Robots with On-Demand HardeningZichen Xu0Yuanhe Chen1Qingsong Xu2Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Macau, China.Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Macau, China.Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Macau, China.Magnetically actuated mobile robots demonstrate attractive advantages in various medical applications due to their wireless and programmable executions with tiny sizes. Confronted with complex application scenarios, however, it requires more flexible and adaptive deployment and utilization methods to fully exploit the functionalities brought by magnetic robots. Herein, we report a design and utilization strategy of magnetic soft robots using a mixture of magnetic particles and non-Newtonian fluidic soft materials to produce programmable, hardened, adhesive, reconfigurable soft robots. For deployment, their ultrasoft structure and adhesion enable them to be spread on various surfaces, achieving magnetic actuation empowerment. The reported technology can potentially improve the functionality of robotic end-effectors and functional surfaces. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed robots could help to grasp and actuate objects 300 times heavier than their weight. Furthermore, it is the first time we have enhanced the stiffness of mechanical structures for these soft materials by on-demand programmable hardening, enabling the robots to maximize force outputs. These findings offer a promising path to understanding, designing, and leveraging magnetic robots for more powerful applications.https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0262 |
| spellingShingle | Zichen Xu Yuanhe Chen Qingsong Xu Spreadable Magnetic Soft Robots with On-Demand Hardening Research |
| title | Spreadable Magnetic Soft Robots with On-Demand Hardening |
| title_full | Spreadable Magnetic Soft Robots with On-Demand Hardening |
| title_fullStr | Spreadable Magnetic Soft Robots with On-Demand Hardening |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spreadable Magnetic Soft Robots with On-Demand Hardening |
| title_short | Spreadable Magnetic Soft Robots with On-Demand Hardening |
| title_sort | spreadable magnetic soft robots with on demand hardening |
| url | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0262 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zichenxu spreadablemagneticsoftrobotswithondemandhardening AT yuanhechen spreadablemagneticsoftrobotswithondemandhardening AT qingsongxu spreadablemagneticsoftrobotswithondemandhardening |