Decoupling and Reprogramming the Wiggling Motion of Midge Larvae Using a Soft Robotic Platform

Abstract

these natural modes of locomotion with engineered systems has been challenging. [11][12][13] In this respect, burgeoning effort has been devoted to developing new simulation tools, physical models, and experimental platforms. Among these engineering tools, soft robotic systems are promising in light of their biologically relevant mechanical compliance, deformability, and modes of locomotion. [4,[14][15][16][17] Untethered soft robots, which can freely move without requiring a physical connection to external hardware and power supplies, are good candidates for studying the locomotion modes of natural invertebrates. [18][19][20][21] Thanks to recent advances in fabrication methods, [22][23][24][25][26] functional materials, [27][28][29] and actuation strategies, [7,[30][31][32][33][34][35] roboticists have proposed several soft robots that are capable of mimicking some features of natural animal locomotion. For example, previous efforts with photo-responsive hydrogels-based robots demonstrated the ability to mimic peristaltic earthworm crawling. [36] Likewise, untethered soft robots powered with shape memory alloy have been shown to exhibit a variety of locomotion modes, including undulation, jumping, crawling through narrow space or walking over rough terrain. [37,38] The application of magnetic soft robots in biomimetic study has received growing attention due to their high controllability. Hu et al. developed a millimeter-scale film robot that achieves multiple locomotion modes,The efficient motility of invertebrates helps them survive under evolutionary pressures. Reconstructing the locomotion of invertebrates and decoupling the influence of individual basic motion are crucial for understanding their underlying mechanisms, which, however, generally remain a challenge due to the complexity of locomotion gaits. Herein, a magnetic soft robot to reproduce midge larva's key natural swimming gaits is developed, and the coupling effect between body curling and rotation on motility is investigated. Through the authors' systematically decoupling studies using programmed magnetic field inputs, the soft robot (named LarvaBot) experiences various coupled gaits, including biomimetic side-to-side flexures, and unveils that the optimal rotation amplitude and the synchronization of curling and rotation greatly enhance its motility. The LarvaBot achieves fast locomotion and upstream capability at the moderate Reynolds number regime. The soft robotics-based platform provides new insight to decouple complex biological locomotion, and design programmed swimming gaits for the fast locomotion of softbodied swimmers.

Bioinspired Superhydrophobic Swimming Robots with Embedded Microfluidic Networks and Photothermal Switch for Controllable Marangoni Propulsion

“…Insect‐scale mini‐robots that enable free movement, controllable manipulation, and telecommunication are highly desired for cutting‐edge applications in military reconnaissance, [ 1 ] environmental monitoring, [ 2 ] remote sensing, [ 3 ] and biomedical engineering. [ 4,5 ] Inspired by natural insects with sophisticated locomotion systems, new‐concept soft robots with compact size, [ 6 ] untethered mobility, [ 7,8 ] soft body [ 9–13 ] and insect‐like morphology [ 14–17 ] have been successfully developed based on various design principles and actuation mechanisms. For instance, rove beetles enable propelling on water surface by releasing chemicals at their hind end whereby the as‐formed surface tension gradient can generate a propelling force for a fast escape.…”

“…morphology [14][15][16][17] have been successfully developed based on various design principles and actuation mechanisms. For instance, rove beetles enable propelling on water surface by releasing chemicals at their hind end whereby the as-formed surface tension gradient can generate a propelling force for a fast escape.…”

Multicomponent and multifunctional integrated miniature soft robots

“…The highly controllable structural deformation of the miniature robots enables them to imitate the locomotion of living organisms such as cilia arrays, starfish larvae, midge larvae, and jellyfish and provides robotic platforms to unveil their underlying physical mechanisms. [10][11][12][13][14] In addition, the development of smart materials (such as stimuli-responsive materials, selfhealing materials, and biomaterials) and fabrication technologies endow miniature soft robots with various functionalities, further promoting their practical applications. [15][16][17][18] To imitate the versatility and adaptability of natural organisms, miniature soft robotic systems with heterogeneous architectures need to be constructed.…”

“…[49][50][51] Due to the good programmability of the magnetic actuation methods, researchers have developed a variety of biomimetic locomotion modes, such as those of jellyfish, zebrafish larvae, midge larvae, scallops, and multilegged animals. [12][13][14]52,53 The programmability of the magnetic actuation method derives from the design of the magnetic field and the distribution of magnetic domains inside the robot. Soft robots with heterogeneous 3D magnetization profiles can exhibit complex 2D-to-3D and 3D-to-3D structural changes, including complex surface with diverse Gaussian curvature.…”

Dynamic morphological transformations in soft architected materials via buckling instability encoded heterogeneous magnetization

“…With predesigned magnetization profiles and magnetic field inputs (including magnetic field strength, direction, and gradient), magnetoactive materials have the capability to exhibit rapid and reversible deformation under the stimuli from permanent magnet or electromagnets 7,18,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44] . Moreover, the dynamic regulation of magnetoactive materials can be achieved by using time-varying controllable magnetic field 43,[45][46][47][48][49][50][51] . Some previous studies focused on mechanical or metamaterial systems constructed by magneto-elastomers with relatively uniform magnetization profiles, which may limit the degree of deformation freedom and the corresponding functionalities 52,53 .…”