Scientists have shown soft and fast microrobots. They are able to catch a fly

"When we imagine a moving machine like a robot, we're imagining something, pretty much

made of hard materials," explains Martin Kaltenbrunner.He and his team of researchers from JKU's Department of Soft Materials Physics and LIT's Soft Materials Laboratory are workingThe basis for the creation of such systems isThe idea is to create favorable conditions that will support close interaction between robot and human in the future and without possible physical harm fromrugged mechanical machines.

Scientists have presented a new approach toelectromagnetic motors. Instead of copper wire and iron, elastic materials and liquid metal have become the main ingredients in soft robots. Scientists have also recently introduced a new type of biogel that is resilient, flexible and stable enough to combine with electronic components to create a kind of "soft robot".

A group led by Kaltenbrunner and DenisMakarov (Helmholtz Center, Dresden-Rossendorf), is currently taking another step forward in the development of such machines. Two researchers noted that previously the disadvantage was that soft robots could change shape very slowly. Their new idea is based on using flexible plastic polydimethylsiloxane and mixing magnetic microparticles such as an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron.

The flower-shaped robot closes for a momentaround the fly before it registers the closing trap and releases it by opening its eight arms controlled by a flat square wave magnetic field (3 mT, 50 Hz). The diameter of the robot is 25 mm with a thickness of 200 microns. Credit & Copyright: Makarov et al.; Communications Materials

A six-arm robot can grip,transport and dispense non-magnetic objects such as a polyurethane foam cube controlled by a permanent magnet. The diameter of the robot is 20 mm with a thickness of 80 microns. Credit & Copyright: Makarov et al.; Communications Materials

A four-armed robot (weight 23 mg) fits intotransparent glass tube and is lifted into the air by a static magnetic field of 3.7 mT outside the plane. The robot is levitated. It deforms and spatially configures itself under the influence of a flat rectangular magnetic field (1.5 mT, 50 Hz). The robot diameter is 15 mm with a thickness of 200 microns. Credit & Copyright: Makarov et al.; Communications Materials

The researchers gave their little softrobots of different shapes. Depending on the shape, placement of microparticles and the thickness of the materials used, robots could move in different ways under the influence of a changing magnetic field in the environment. These actuators are only a few micrometers thick and a few micrograms in weight, so they require little energy to move. In addition, the components can repeat movements millions of times without any modification.

By influencing the magnetic field and changing it,Kaltenbrunner and his colleagues were able to build tiny robots that could hover, swim and - in the broadest sense - even walk. Scientists have also shown that in just a few milliseconds, their flower-shaped robots can catch a fly that lands on them.

A robot was developed using simulationthe form of a beam of a manta ray with a load that can float in water, controlled by an alternating rectangular magnetic field in the plane (2 mT, 1 Hz). The lateral dimensions of the robot are 17 mm × 19 mm with a thickness of 80 microns. Credit & Copyright: Makarov et al.; Communications Materials

A triangular shaped robot can roll through the airat high speed and move forward under the influence of an alternating plane magnetic field of a rectangular shape (3.5 mT, 1.5 Hz). The diameter of the robot is 18 mm with a thickness of 80 microns. Credit & Copyright: Makarov et al.; Communications Materials

Scientists say their development opens up newpossibilities for creating soft robots that are able to move very quickly. The long-term idea is to primarily produce more sophisticated mini-machines that could, for example, help work with the blood vessels in the human body. For this, the materials used must be biodegradable and easily controllable.

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