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Magnetically Driven Undulatory Microswimmers Integrating Multiple Rigid Segments
Author(s) -
Liao Pan,
Xing Liuxi,
Zhang Shiwu,
Sun Dong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201901197
Subject(s) - propulsion , biomimetics , interfacing , computer science , fabrication , nanotechnology , bionics , robot , soft robotics , mechanical engineering , materials science , aerospace engineering , engineering , artificial intelligence , computer hardware , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Mimicking biological locomotion strategies offers important possibilities and motivations for robot design and control methods. Among bioinspired microrobots, flexible microrobots exhibit remarkable efficiency and agility. These microrobots traditionally rely on soft material components to achieve undulatory propulsion, which may encounter challenges in design and manufacture including the complex fabrication processes and the interfacing of rigid and soft components. Herein, a bioinspired magnetically driven microswimmer that mimics the undulatory propulsive mechanism is proposed. The designed microswimmer consists of four rigid segments, and each segment is connected to the succeeding segment by joints. The microswimmer is fabricated integrally by 3D laser lithography without further assembly, thereby simplifying microrobot fabrication while enhancing structural integrity. Experimental results show that the microswimmer can successfully swim forward along guided directions via undulatory locomotion in the low Reynolds number (Re) regime. This work demonstrates for the first time that the flexible characteristic of microswimmers can be emulated by 3D structures with multiple rigid segments, which broadens possibilities in microrobot design. The proposed magnetically driven microswimmer can potentially be used in biomedical applications, such as medical diagnosis and treatment in precision medicine.