Electronically integrated, mass-manufactured, microscopic robots

Miskin, Marc Z.; Cortese, Alejandro J.; Dorsey, Kyle; Esposito, Edward; Reynolds, Michael F.; Liu, Qingkun; Cao, Michael C.; Muller, David A.; McEuen, Paul L.; Cohen, Itai

doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2626-9

Cited by 249 publications

(229 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

214

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Low voltages cause reversible electrochemical adsorption of O 2− /OH − ions decomposed from the water onto the Pt (states I and II in Fig. 2A) (10). At higher positive The regions with black borders show shape-memory actuators, and the regions without black borders show shape-change actuators without memory.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micrometer-sized electrically programmable shape-memory actuators for low-power microrobotics

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Shape-memory actuators allow machines ranging from robots to medical implants to hold their form without continuous power, a feature especially advantageous for situations where these devices are untethered and power is limited. Although previous work has demonstrated shape-memory actuators using polymers, alloys, and ceramics, the need for micrometer-scale electro–shape-memory actuators remains largely unmet, especially ones that can be driven by standard electronics (~1 volt). Here, we report on a new class of fast, high-curvature, low-voltage, reconfigurable, micrometer-scale shape-memory actuators. They function by the electrochemical oxidation/reduction of a platinum surface, creating a strain in the oxidized layer that causes bending. They bend to the smallest radius of curvature of any electrically controlled microactuator (~500 nanometers), are fast (<100-millisecond operation), and operate inside the electrochemical window of water, avoiding bubble generation associated with oxygen evolution. We demonstrate that these shape-memory actuators can be used to create basic electrically reconfigurable microscale robot elements including actuating surfaces, origami-based three-dimensional shapes, morphing metamaterials, and mechanical memory elements. Our shape-memory actuators have the potential to enable the realization of adaptive microscale structures, bio-implantable devices, and microscopic robots.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micrometer-sized electrically programmable shape-memory actuators for low-power microrobotics

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On the other hand, silicon‐based walking microrobots powered by a new class of actuators called surface electrochemical actuators were also recently demonstrated. [ 206 ] In principle, a similar type of on‐board power could be achieved for light‐controlled microrobots using conductive polymers for building the surface electrochemical actuator.…”

Section: Envisioned Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light‐Powered Microrobots: Challenges and Opportunities for Hard and Soft Responsive Microswimmers

Bunea

Martella

Nocentini

et al. 2021

Advanced Intelligent Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

30 ms, the helical chiral structure is reverted. Reproduced with permission. [127] Copyright 2017, The Authors, published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. C) Directional movement of an oscillating helix hydrogel-based microstructure confined between two glass surfaces. Reproduced with permission. [127] Copyright 2017, The Authors, published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. D) (Left) Superimposed images of a spiral rotor under irradiation for 0.5 s and relaxation for 0.5 s and (right) superimposition of the thresholded outline of the rotor at different times. Reproduced under the terms of the CC-BY license. [128] Copyright 2019, The Authors, published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. E) LCN-based swimmer microrobots. (Left) Schematic illustration of the bioinspired wormlike travelling wave deformation shape change occurring during homogeneous phase transition or illumination with a patterned light. (Middle, right) Optical images of a microtube displacement under travelling patterned irradiation. (Middle) Green overlays, direction according to green arrows, yellow dashed line is the reference position. (Right) Optical microscopy images of a microdisk locomotion along a square path-the travelling wave direction is indicated by the green arrows, and the disk's direction of travel to the next waypoint by the white arrows. Reproduced with permission. [134] Copyright 2016, Springer Nature.

show abstract

“…The toxicity of fuels, the presence of high concentration electrolytes, and the proteins in biological fluids, are still calling for the breakthrough in LMNRs. Recently, a novel light‐driven microrobot was demonstrated with onboard circuitry, [ 175 ] which can operate by electrochemically induced stresses within a large range of environmental pH conditions. This electronically integrated robot may allow autonomous interaction with the surrounding biological environment using local sensory input and feedback, paving the way to a truly intelligent system driven by light.…”

Section: Outlook and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Encoding of Light‐Driven Micro/Nanorobots: from Single to Swarming Systems

Wang

Xiong

Tang

2021

Advanced Intelligent Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Figure 5. LMNR manipulation by frequency-selective encoding. a) Micromotor based on polystyrene particle, with caps resonant at different wavelengths, can maneuver the motion direction through thermophoresis. Reproduced with permission. [70] Copyright 2016, American Chemical Society. b) Multicomponent microswimmer that exhibited dissimilar behaviors under different incident light wavelengths. Reproduced with permission. [71] Copyright 2018, Wiley-VCH. c) Janus TiO 2 /Si nanotree motor with multichannel controllability by orthogonal dye sensitizing. Reproduced with permission. [73]

show abstract

Electronically integrated, mass-manufactured, microscopic robots

Cited by 249 publications

References 48 publications

Micrometer-sized electrically programmable shape-memory actuators for low-power microrobotics

Micrometer-sized electrically programmable shape-memory actuators for low-power microrobotics

Light‐Powered Microrobots: Challenges and Opportunities for Hard and Soft Responsive Microswimmers

The Encoding of Light‐Driven Micro/Nanorobots: from Single to Swarming Systems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About