由单个致动器驱动的用于灵活导航的无系绳软微型机器人。

Untethered soft microrobot driven by a single actuator for agile navigations.

作者信息

Wu Yichuan, Cao Lai, Lu Guobin, Wang Peng, Ran Longqi, Peng Bei

机构信息

School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.

出版信息

Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 25;16(1):6842. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61810-1.

DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-61810-1

PMID:40707467

Abstract

Cockroaches are renowned for their ability to swiftly navigate through tight spaces and robustly withstand high impacts due to their well-controlled locomotion and highly flexible exoskeletons. It has been a long-standing challenge to replicate these features in untethered controllable microrobots (weighing~1 g). Here, we show that a single actuator is used to tune a microrobot's leg strokes for controllable movements in various directions (forward, backward, and diagonal). Weighing just over 1 g and measuring 2 cm in length, the untethered microrobot achieves a forward speed of 4.8 body lengths per second (BL/s) and a turning speed of 280 deg/s, resulting in an outstanding maneuverability that has only previously been achieved in multiply-actuated microrobots. The untethered microrobot can remain functional after being stepped on. The single actuator driving scheme, device structural architecture, and control techniques are investigated as key guidance for the development of future controllable and resilient miniaturized robots.

摘要

蟑螂以其在狭窄空间中迅速穿梭以及凭借可控的运动和高度灵活的外骨骼有力抵御高强度撞击的能力而闻名。长期以来，要在重量约为1克的无缆绳可控微型机器人中复制这些特性一直是一项挑战。在此，我们展示了如何使用单个致动器来调整微型机器人的腿部冲程，以实现各个方向（向前、向后和对角线方向）的可控运动。这款无缆绳微型机器人重量略超1克，长度为2厘米，其前进速度达到每秒4.8个身体长度（BL/s），转弯速度为280°/秒，具备出色的机动性，而此前只有多重致动微型机器人才能达到这样的机动性。该无缆绳微型机器人在被踩踏后仍能正常工作。对单致动器驱动方案、设备结构架构和控制技术进行了研究，作为未来可控且有韧性的小型机器人发展的关键指导。