Physical Intelligence Article 2024

Single-step precision programming of decoupledmultiresponsive soft millirobots

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Physical Intelligence
Postdoctoral Scientist
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Physical Intelligence
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Physical Intelligence
  • Postdoctoral Researcher
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Physical Intelligence
Guest Researcher
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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.

Author(s): Zhiqiang Zheng and Jie Han and Qing Shi and Sinan Ozgun Demir and Weitao Jiang and Metin Sitti
Journal: PNAS
Volume: 121
Year: 2024
Bibtex Type: Article (article)
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320386121
State: Published
URL: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2320386121
Electronic Archiving: grant_archive

BibTex

@article{zheng2024multiresponsive,
  title = {Single-step precision programming of decoupledmultiresponsive soft millirobots},
  journal = {PNAS},
  abstract = {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.},
  volume = {121},
  year = {2024},
  slug = {zheng2024multiresponsive},
  author = {Zheng, Zhiqiang and Han, Jie and Shi, Qing and Demir, Sinan Ozgun and Jiang, Weitao and Sitti, Metin},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2320386121}
}