Dandelion‐Inspired, Wind‐Dispersed Polymer‐Assembly Controlled by Light
Abstract The rise of stimuli‐responsive polymers has brought about a wealth of materials for small‐scale, wirelessly controlled soft‐bodied robots. Thinking beyond conventional robotic mobilities already demonstrated in synthetic systems, such as walking, swimming and jumping, flying in air by dispe...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Advanced Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202206752 |
| _version_ | 1811160452679335936 |
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| author | Jianfeng Yang Hang Zhang Alex Berdin Wenqi Hu Hao Zeng |
| author_facet | Jianfeng Yang Hang Zhang Alex Berdin Wenqi Hu Hao Zeng |
| author_sort | Jianfeng Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The rise of stimuli‐responsive polymers has brought about a wealth of materials for small‐scale, wirelessly controlled soft‐bodied robots. Thinking beyond conventional robotic mobilities already demonstrated in synthetic systems, such as walking, swimming and jumping, flying in air by dispersal, gliding, or even hovering is a frontier yet to be explored by responsive materials. The demanding requirements for actuator's performance, lightweight, and effective aerodynamic design underlie the grand challenges. Here, a soft matter‐based porous structure capable of wind‐assisted dispersal and lift‐off/landing action under the control of a light beam is reported. The design is inspired by the seed of dandelion, resembling several biomimetic features, i.e., high porosity, lightweight, and separated vortex ring generation under a steady wind flow. Superior to its natural counterparts, this artificial seed is equipped with a soft actuator made of light‐responsive liquid crystalline elastomer, which induces reversible opening/closing actions of the bristles upon visible light excitation. This shape‐morphing enables manual tuning of terminal velocity, drag coefficient, and wind threshold for dispersal. Optically controlled wind‐assisted lift‐off and landing actions, and a light‐induced local accumulation in descending structures are demonstrated. The results offer novel approaches for wirelessly controlled, miniatured devices that can passively navigate over a large aerial space. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:57:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ae5156788f0c42e2bfa2f5b096b559a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2198-3844 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:57:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-ae5156788f0c42e2bfa2f5b096b559a12023-03-03T08:59:14ZengWileyAdvanced Science2198-38442023-03-01107n/an/a10.1002/advs.202206752Dandelion‐Inspired, Wind‐Dispersed Polymer‐Assembly Controlled by LightJianfeng Yang0Hang Zhang1Alex Berdin2Wenqi Hu3Hao Zeng4Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Tampere University P.O. Box 541 Tampere FI‐33101 FinlandDepartment of Applied Physics Aalto University P.O. Box 15100 Espoo FI‐02150 FinlandFaculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Tampere University P.O. Box 541 Tampere FI‐33101 FinlandMax Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569 Stuttgart GermanyFaculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Tampere University P.O. Box 541 Tampere FI‐33101 FinlandAbstract The rise of stimuli‐responsive polymers has brought about a wealth of materials for small‐scale, wirelessly controlled soft‐bodied robots. Thinking beyond conventional robotic mobilities already demonstrated in synthetic systems, such as walking, swimming and jumping, flying in air by dispersal, gliding, or even hovering is a frontier yet to be explored by responsive materials. The demanding requirements for actuator's performance, lightweight, and effective aerodynamic design underlie the grand challenges. Here, a soft matter‐based porous structure capable of wind‐assisted dispersal and lift‐off/landing action under the control of a light beam is reported. The design is inspired by the seed of dandelion, resembling several biomimetic features, i.e., high porosity, lightweight, and separated vortex ring generation under a steady wind flow. Superior to its natural counterparts, this artificial seed is equipped with a soft actuator made of light‐responsive liquid crystalline elastomer, which induces reversible opening/closing actions of the bristles upon visible light excitation. This shape‐morphing enables manual tuning of terminal velocity, drag coefficient, and wind threshold for dispersal. Optically controlled wind‐assisted lift‐off and landing actions, and a light‐induced local accumulation in descending structures are demonstrated. The results offer novel approaches for wirelessly controlled, miniatured devices that can passively navigate over a large aerial space.https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202206752dispersallight‐drivenliquid crystal elastomerpassive flierseparated vortex ringsoft actuator |
| spellingShingle | Jianfeng Yang Hang Zhang Alex Berdin Wenqi Hu Hao Zeng Dandelion‐Inspired, Wind‐Dispersed Polymer‐Assembly Controlled by Light Advanced Science dispersal light‐driven liquid crystal elastomer passive flier separated vortex ring soft actuator |
| title | Dandelion‐Inspired, Wind‐Dispersed Polymer‐Assembly Controlled by Light |
| title_full | Dandelion‐Inspired, Wind‐Dispersed Polymer‐Assembly Controlled by Light |
| title_fullStr | Dandelion‐Inspired, Wind‐Dispersed Polymer‐Assembly Controlled by Light |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dandelion‐Inspired, Wind‐Dispersed Polymer‐Assembly Controlled by Light |
| title_short | Dandelion‐Inspired, Wind‐Dispersed Polymer‐Assembly Controlled by Light |
| title_sort | dandelion inspired wind dispersed polymer assembly controlled by light |
| topic | dispersal light‐driven liquid crystal elastomer passive flier separated vortex ring soft actuator |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202206752 |
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