Biomimetic soft micro-swimmers: from actuation mechanisms to applications

Fu, Shihan; Wei, Fanan; Yin, Chao; Yao, Ligang; Wang, Yaxiong

doi:10.1007/s10544-021-00546-3

Cited by 39 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…2018; Fu et al. 2021). More recently, there has also been a growing interest in exploring the application of machine learning in designing artificial microswimmers (Colabrese et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These microswimmers employ a variety of mechanisms to overcome the dominance of viscous over inertial forces for self-propulsion at low Reynolds numbers. Extensive studies have shed light on the hydrodynamics of swimming microorganisms (Lauga & Powers 2009;Yeomans, Pushkin & Shum 2014;Elgeti, Winkler & Gompper 2015), which has also contributed to the development of various biomimetic or bioinspired artificial swimmers (Bente et al 2018;Fu et al 2021). More recently, there has also been a growing interest in exploring the application of machine learning in designing artificial microswimmers (Colabrese et al 2017;Schneider & Stark 2019;Cichos et al 2020;Tsang et al 2020b;Hartl et al 2021;Liu et al 2021;Muiños-Landin et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effect of particle geometry on squirming through a shear-thinning fluid

et al. 2022

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Biological and artificial microswimmers often encounter fluid media with non-Newtonian rheological properties. In particular, many biological fluids such as blood and mucus are shear-thinning. Recent studies have demonstrated how shear-thinning rheology can impact substantially the propulsion performance in different manners. In this work, we examine the effect of geometrical shape upon locomotion in a shear-thinning fluid using a prolate spheroidal squirmer model. We use a combination of asymptotic analysis and numerical simulations to quantify how particle geometry impacts the speed and the energetic cost of swimming. The results demonstrate the advantages of spheroidal over spherical swimmers in terms of both swimming speed and energetic efficiency when squirming through a shear-thinning fluid. More generally, the findings suggest the possibility of tuning the swimmer geometry to better exploit non-Newtonian rheological behaviours for more effective locomotion in complex fluids.

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“…2018; Fu et al. 2021). More recently, there has also been a growing interest in exploring the application of machine learning in designing artificial microswimmers (Colabrese et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of particle geometry on squirming through a shear-thinning fluid

et al. 2022

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“…Fu et al introduced the driving mechanism of micro-robotic fish, emphasising the effects of the driving materials and corresponding power sources on the swimming speed. 71 SMAs and dielectric elastomers, which are commonly used for artificial muscles, have been used by many researchers for underwater robot actuators. Some researchers have arranged spline SMAs on the body and tail fins of robotic fish as the actuator to improve the efficiency.…”

Section: Functional Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of multi-fin propulsion and functional materials of underwater bionic robotic fish

Wang

Dong

Zhang

et al. 2022

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C:

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At present, single-fin propulsion modes, such as pectoral fins and caudal fins, cannot ensure the mobility and forward speed of bionic robotic fish, whereas a multi-fin and flexible body can better ensure a high propulsion efficiency – particularly with low-speed mobility and high-speed stability. Therefore, the cooperative propulsion mode of the pectoral fin and caudal fin has become a research hotspot in recent years. This paper systematically introduces various actuators of robotic fish, including traditional actuators and functional materials. The functional materials include shape-memory alloy wires, ionic polymer–metal composites and piezoelectric ceramics, and their performance characteristics and limitations are discussed. Functional materials can reduce the volume and weight of a robot and reduce noise. Underwater robots have the advantages of flexibility and the ability to perform complex motions. Therefore, flexible robotic fish that combine the flexible behaviour of real fish with robot technology are gradually emerging. Finally, future research directions for bionic robotic fish are presented.

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“…Magnetic soft robots have been successfully employed as efficient aquatic carrier vehicles to exhibit versatile locomotion and adaptive swimming dynamics [24,25]. In most cases, these flexible robots are inspired by nature [26], ranging from miniature microtubule-based structures such as cilia [27] and flagella [28], to spermatozoa [29] and jellyfish [30]. In general, soft robotic swimmers have a strong biological inspiration from fish [31,32], squids [33], turtles [34], and jellyfish [35,36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Magnetic-field-induced propulsion of jellyfish-inspired soft robotic swimmers

2023

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The multifaceted appearance of soft robots in the form of swimmers, catheters, surgical devices, and drugcarrier vehicles in biomedical and microfluidic applications is ubiquitous today. Jellyfish-inspired soft robotic swimmers (jellyfishbots) have been fabricated and experimentally characterized by several researchers that reported their swimming kinematics and multimodal locomotion. However, the underlying physical mechanisms that govern magnetic-field-induced propulsion are not yet fully understood. Here, we use a robust and efficient computational framework to study the jellyfishbot swimming kinematics and the induced flow field dynamics through numerical simulation. We consider a two-dimensional model jellyfishbot that has flexible lappets, which are symmetric about the jellyfishbot center. These lappets exhibit flexural deformation when subjected to external magnetic fields to displace the surrounding fluid, thereby generating the thrust required for propulsion. We perform a parametric sweep to explore the jellyfishbot kinematic performance for different system parameters-structural, fluidic, and magnetic. In jellyfishbots, the soft magnetic composite elastomeric lappets exhibit temporal and spatial asymmetries when subjected to unsteady external magnetic fields. The average speed is observed to be dependent on both these asymmetries, quantified by the glide magnitude and the net area swept by the lappet tips per swimming cycle, respectively. We observe that a judicious choice of the applied magnetic field and remnant magnetization profile in the jellyfishbot lappets enhances both these asymmetries. Furthermore, the dependence of the jellyfishbot swimming speed upon the net area swept (spatial asymmetry) is twice as high as the dependence of speed on the glide ratio (temporal asymmetry). Finally, functional relationships between the swimming speed and different kinematic parameters and nondimensional numbers are developed. Our results provide guidelines for the design of improved jellyfish-inspired magnetic soft robotic swimmers.

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Biomimetic soft micro-swimmers: from actuation mechanisms to applications

Cited by 39 publications

References 94 publications

The effect of particle geometry on squirming through a shear-thinning fluid

The effect of particle geometry on squirming through a shear-thinning fluid

Review of multi-fin propulsion and functional materials of underwater bionic robotic fish

Magnetic-field-induced propulsion of jellyfish-inspired soft robotic swimmers

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