Autonomous crawling soft 'ringbots' can navigate narrow gaps
Watch them dance in the creepy video below
North Carolina State University
Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a ring-shaped soft robot capable of crawling across surfaces when exposed to elevated temperatures or infrared light. The researchers have demonstrated that these "ringbots" are capable of pulling a small payload across the surface -- in ambient air or under water, as well as passing through a gap that is narrower than its ring size.
The ringbots are made of liquid crystal elastomers in the shape
of looped ribbon, resembling a bracelet. When you place the ringbot on a
surface that is at least 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit), which is
hotter than the ambient air, the portion of the ribbon touching the surface
contracts, while the portion of the ribbon exposed to the air does not. This
induces a rolling motion in the ribbon. Video of the ringbots can be found
here: https://youtu.be/yL5gVAjh1mQ.
Similarly, when researchers shine infrared light on the ringbot,
the portion of the ribbon exposed to the light contracts, while the portion
shielded from the light does not. This also induces a rolling motion in the
ribbon.
In practical terms, this means that the crawling ringbot moves
from the bottom up when placed on a hot surface. But when exposed to infrared
light, the movement begins from the top down.
One of the things that drives this continuous motion is the fact that the ringbots are bistable, meaning that there are two shapes when it is at rest. If the ribbon begins to twist, it will either snap back to its original shape, or snap forward into the other bistable state.
Picture a rubber bracelet shaped like a ribbon. If you fold two
ends of the bracelet forward a little bit, then let go, it will snap back to
its original shape. But if you fold the ends over far enough, it will snap over
-- essentially folding the bracelet inside out.
In the case of the ringbots, the "folding" is done by
applying constant heat or infrared light, causing the elastomer to contract and
rotate. If the ring robot is symmetrical, this will essentially make it dance
in place.
"But by engineering the shape of the loop, so that one side
of the loop is permanently twisted, the structure is asymmetrical," says
Jie Yin, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor
of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State. "This means that the
loop is exposed to the heat or infrared light unevenly, which causes the soft
robot to move laterally across the surface."
When placed on a hot surface, the end result is that the
crawling ringbot pulls itself forward. But when exposed to infrared light, the
crawling ringbot pushes itself forward. Think of it as front-wheel drive versus
rear-wheel drive.
In demonstrations, the ringbots were capable of pulling a small
payload, and worked both in ambient air and underwater.
The researchers also demonstrated that a ringbot could adapt its
body shape to squeeze through a confined space that is more than 30% narrower
than the ringbot's diameter. And when the gap is too narrow for the soft robot
to pass through, it redirects itself to move away from the gap.
"This is a fundamental advance, not something designed with
a specific application in mind," says Yao Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher
in Yin's lab. "We are demonstrating what can be accomplished when
'physical intelligence' is engineered into the material and the design of the
structure itself, allowing it to move and navigate space without computational
input."
The paper, "Self-sustained snapping drives autonomous
dancing and motion in free-standing wavy rings," is published in the
journal Advanced Materials. First author of the paper is Yao Zhao,
a postdoctoral researcher at NC State. The paper was co-authored by Yaoye Hong
and Fangjie Qi, Ph.D. students at NC State; Yinding Chi, a recent Ph.D.
graduate of NC State; and Hao Su, an associate professor of mechanical and
aerospace engineering at NC State.
The work was done with support from the National Science Foundation under grants 2005374, 2126072, and 2026622. Your tax dollars at work!
