Ke Xingxing, Yong Haochen, Xu Fukang, Chai Zhiping, Jiang Jiajun, Ni Xiang, Wu Zhigang
State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Soft Robot. 2024 Feb;11(1):43-56. doi: 10.1089/soro.2022.0105. Epub 2023 Jul 7.
Meso- or micro-scale(or insect-scale) robots that are capable of realizing flexible locomotion and/or carrying on complex tasks in a remotely controllable manner hold great promise in diverse fields, such as biomedical applications, unknown environment exploration, operation in confined spaces, and so on. However, the existing design and implementation approaches for such multifunctional, on-demand configurable insect-scale robots are often focusing on their actuation or locomotion, while matched design and implementation with synergistic actuation and function modules under large deformation targeting varying task/target demands are rarely investigated. In this study, through systematical investigations on synergistical mechanical design and function integration, we developed a matched design and implementation method for constructing multifunctional, on-demand configurable insect-scale soft magnetic robots. Based on such a method, we report a simple approach to construct soft magnetic robots by assembling various modules from the standard part library together. Moreover, diverse soft magnetic robots with desirable motion and function can be (re)configured. Finally, we demonstrated (re)configurable soft magnetic robots shifting into different modes to adapt and respond to varying scenarios. The customizable physical realization of complex soft robots with desirable actuation and diverse functions can pave a new way for constructing more sophisticated insect-scale soft machines that can be applied to practical applications soon.
能够以远程可控方式实现灵活运动和/或执行复杂任务的中尺度或微尺度（或昆虫尺度）机器人在生物医学应用、未知环境探索、受限空间操作等多个领域具有巨大潜力。然而，现有的此类多功能、按需可配置昆虫尺度机器人的设计和实现方法往往侧重于其驱动或运动，而针对不同任务/目标需求在大变形情况下进行协同驱动和功能模块的匹配设计与实现则鲜有研究。在本研究中，通过对协同机械设计和功能集成的系统研究，我们开发了一种用于构建多功能、按需可配置昆虫尺度软磁机器人的匹配设计与实现方法。基于此方法，我们报告了一种通过将标准零件库中的各种模块组装在一起构建软磁机器人的简单方法。此外，可以（重新）配置具有理想运动和功能的各种软磁机器人。最后，我们展示了（重新）配置的软磁机器人转变为不同模式以适应和响应不同场景。具有理想驱动和多样功能的复杂软机器人的可定制物理实现可为构建更复杂的昆虫尺度软机器铺平道路，这些软机器有望很快应用于实际应用中。
