Sareh Sina, Rossiter Jonathan, Conn Andrew, Drescher Knut, Goldstein Raymond
Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
J R Soc Interface. 2013 Jan 6;10(78):20120666. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2012.0666. Epub 2012 Nov 8.
Cilia are used effectively in a wide variety of biological systems from fluid transport to thrust generation. Here, we present the design and implementation of artificial cilia, based on a biomimetic planar actuator using soft-smart materials. This actuator is modelled on the cilia movement of the alga Volvox, and represents the cilium as a piecewise constant-curvature robotic actuator that enables the subsequent direct translation of natural articulation into a multi-segment ionic polymer metal composite actuator. It is demonstrated how the combination of optimal segmentation pattern and biologically derived per-segment driving signals reproduce natural ciliary motion. The amenability of the artificial cilia to scaling is also demonstrated through the comparison of the Reynolds number achieved with that of natural cilia.
纤毛在从流体运输到推力产生的各种生物系统中都能有效发挥作用。在此，我们展示了基于使用软智能材料的仿生平面致动器的人工纤毛的设计与实现。该致动器以绿藻团藻的纤毛运动为模型，将纤毛表示为分段恒定曲率的机器人致动器，这使得能够将自然关节运动直接转化为多段离子聚合物金属复合材料致动器。展示了最佳分段模式与生物衍生的每段驱动信号的组合如何重现自然纤毛运动。通过将人工纤毛实现的雷诺数与自然纤毛的雷诺数进行比较，还证明了人工纤毛对缩放的适应性。
