Zhao Peiran, Yan Liang, Gao Xiaoshan
School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
Ningbo Institute of Technology, Beihang University, Ningbo 315800, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Aug 9;15(31):37658-37667. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c06648. Epub 2023 Jul 28.
Droplet robots have attracted much attention in recent years due to their large-scale deformability and flexible mobility in confined spaces. However, droplet robots are always difficult to maintain rigid shapes, making them difficult to manipulate objects with large inertia. Moreover, their low conductivity makes them unable to complete tasks such as circuit repair. Herein, a millirobot made from magnetorheological liquid metal is proposed to address the problems. Specifically, the magnetorheological liquid metal (MLM) robot is made by engulfing iron particles into gallium-indium alloy, and the mass fraction of the MLM robot is determined by microscopic observation and rheological test. The MLM robot possesses both solid and liquid properties, enabling the robot with plasticity, large-scale deformability, good conductivity, motion flexibility, and good object manipulation. The MLM robot can achieve almost all of the functions of existing droplet robots, including splitting, merging, navigating in narrow channels, and pushing objects. In addition, it can also accomplish some other tasks that are difficult for existing droplet robots, such as pulling large objects, repairing damaged circuits selectively and reversibly, and repairing suspended circuits through plasticity. The demos show that MLM robots can traverse narrow spaces and repair circuit damage selectively and reversibly. It is believed that MLM robots can enrich diverse functionalities in the future.
近年来，液滴机器人因其在受限空间内的大规模可变形性和灵活机动性而备受关注。然而，液滴机器人始终难以保持刚性形状，这使得它们难以操纵具有大惯性的物体。此外，它们的低导电性使其无法完成诸如电路修复等任务。在此，提出了一种由磁流变液态金属制成的微型机器人来解决这些问题。具体而言，磁流变液态金属（MLM）机器人是通过将铁颗粒包裹在镓铟合金中制成的，并且通过微观观察和流变测试来确定MLM机器人的质量分数。MLM机器人兼具固体和液体特性，使机器人具有可塑性、大规模可变形性、良好的导电性、运动灵活性以及良好的物体操纵能力。MLM机器人几乎可以实现现有液滴机器人的所有功能，包括分裂、合并、在狭窄通道中导航以及推动物体。此外，它还可以完成一些现有液滴机器人难以完成的其他任务，例如拉动大型物体、选择性且可逆地修复受损电路以及通过可塑性修复悬空电路。演示表明，MLM机器人可以穿越狭窄空间并选择性且可逆地修复电路损伤。人们相信，MLM机器人未来能够丰富多样的功能。
