Lou He, Wang Yibin, Sheng Yifeng, Zhu He, Zhu Shiping, Yu Jiangfan, Zhang Qi
School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518172, China.
Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen, 518172, China.
Adv Sci (Weinh). 2024 Sep;11(36):e2405021. doi: 10.1002/advs.202405021. Epub 2024 Jul 29.
Untethered magnetic soft robots capable of performing adaptive locomotion and shape reconfiguration open up possibilities for various applications owing to their flexibility. However, magnetic soft robots are typically composed of soft materials with fixed modulus, making them unable to exert or withstand substantial forces, which limits the exploration of their new functionalities. Here, water-induced, shape-locking magnetic robots with magnetically controlled shape change and water-induced shape-locking are introduced. The water-induced phase separation enables these robots to undergo a modulus transition from 1.78 MPa in the dry state to 410 MPa after hydration. Moreover, the body material's inherent self-healing property enables the direct assembly of morphing structures and magnetic soft robots with complicated structures and magnetization profiles. These robots can be delivered through magnetic actuation and perform programmed tasks including supporting, blocking, and grasping by on-demand deformation and subsequent water-induced stiffening. Moreover, a water-stiffening magnetic stent is developed, and its precise delivery and water-induced shape-locking are demonstrated in a vascular phantom. The combination of untethered delivery, on-demand shape change, and water-induced stiffening properties makes the proposed magnetic robots promising for biomedical applications.
能够进行自适应运动和形状重构的无系绳磁性软机器人，因其灵活性为各种应用开辟了可能性。然而，磁性软机器人通常由具有固定模量的软材料组成，这使得它们无法施加或承受较大的力，从而限制了对其新功能的探索。在此，引入了具有磁控形状变化和水致形状锁定的水致形状锁定磁性机器人。水致相分离使这些机器人能够经历模量转变，从干燥状态下的1.78兆帕转变为水化后的410兆帕。此外，主体材料固有的自愈特性使得能够直接组装具有复杂结构和磁化分布的变形结构和磁性软机器人。这些机器人可以通过磁驱动进行输送，并通过按需变形和随后的水致硬化来执行包括支撑、阻挡和抓取在内的编程任务。此外，还开发了一种水硬化磁性支架，并在血管模型中展示了其精确输送和水致形状锁定。无系绳输送、按需形状变化和水致硬化特性的结合，使得所提出的磁性机器人在生物医学应用中具有广阔前景。
