S2E11

Soft robotic structures with complex magnetizations

Acoustic bubble-based microrobots

Abstract:

Small-scale soft magnetic robots can navigate through confined and unconstructed environments using external magnetic fields, that are promising for biomedical applications including targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgeries. Developing these multi-functional soft robots imposes unique challenges in design, fabrication, and control of soft magnetic material and structures. In this talk, I will introduce some unique properties of soft roots that are enabled by complex magnetizations. I will also show different methods to program the magnetization patterns for millimeter soft robotic systems. Soft robotic structures with complex magnetizations can facilitate the fundamental studies of active matter system, construct metamaterials, and design novel biomedical devices.

Abstract:

Untethered microrobots have significant applications in medical interventions such as targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery. However, their locomotion on curved 3D spaces at high speeds is limited. Here, I present acoustically powered microrobots that use a fast and unidirectional locomotion strategy, termed as surface slipping, and can navigate on both flat and curved surfaces. The 3D-microprinted robots contain a spherical air bubble with which they harness acoustic waves for propulsion at incredibly high speeds, up to 90 body lengths per second with a body length of about 25 µm. The proposed microrobots have the thrust force of about two to three orders of magnitude higher than that of microorganisms, such as algae and bacteria, which is enough for navigation inside the vascular capillaries with blood flow. Such nonconventional acoustic microrobot designs could lay the groundwork for fast and efficient swimming in Stokes flows.