Zheng Zhiqiang, Han Jie, Shi Qing, Demir Sinan Ozgun, Jiang Weitao, Sitti Metin
Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany.
State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710054, China.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Mar 26;121(13):e2320386121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2320386121. Epub 2024 Mar 21.
Stimuli-responsive soft robots offer new capabilities for the fields of medical and rehabilitation robotics, artificial intelligence, and soft electronics. Precisely programming the shape morphing and decoupling the multiresponsiveness of such robots is crucial to enable them with ample degrees of freedom and multifunctionality, while ensuring high fabrication accuracy. However, current designs featuring coupled multiresponsiveness or intricate assembly processes face limitations in executing complex transformations and suffer from a lack of precision. Therefore, we propose a one-stepped strategy to program multistep shape-morphing soft millirobots (MSSMs) in response to decoupled environmental stimuli. Our approach involves employing a multilayered elastomer and laser scanning technology to selectively process the structure of MSSMs, achieving a minimum machining precision of 30 μm. The resulting MSSMs are capable of imitating the shape morphing of plants and hand gestures and resemble kirigami, pop-up, and bistable structures. The decoupled multistimuli responsiveness of the MSSMs allows them to conduct shape morphing during locomotion, perform logic circuit control, and remotely repair circuits in response to humidity, temperature, and magnetic field. This strategy presents a paradigm for the effective design and fabrication of untethered soft miniature robots with physical intelligence, advancing the decoupled multiresponsive materials through modular tailoring of robotic body structures and properties to suit specific applications.
刺激响应型软机器人为医疗和康复机器人技术、人工智能及软电子学领域带来了新的能力。精确编程此类机器人的形状变形并解耦其多响应性，对于使其具备充足的自由度和多功能性，同时确保高制造精度至关重要。然而，当前具有耦合多响应性或复杂组装过程的设计在执行复杂变换时面临限制，且缺乏精度。因此，我们提出一种单步策略，用于对多步形状变形的软微型机器人（MSSM）进行编程，以响应解耦的环境刺激。我们的方法包括采用多层弹性体和激光扫描技术来选择性地加工MSSM的结构，实现最小30μm的加工精度。由此产生的MSSM能够模仿植物的形状变形和手势，类似剪纸、弹出式和双稳态结构。MSSM的解耦多刺激响应性使其能够在运动过程中进行形状变形，执行逻辑电路控制，并响应湿度、温度和磁场远程修复电路。该策略为有效设计和制造具有物理智能的无系绳软微型机器人提供了一种范例，通过对机器人身体结构和特性进行模块化定制以适应特定应用，推动了解耦多响应材料的发展。
