Modeling and analysis of bio-syncretic micro-swimmers for cardiomyocyte-based actuation

Along with sensation and intelligence, actuation is one of the most important factors in the development of conventional robots. Many novel achievements have been made regarding bio-based actuators to solve the challenges of conventional actuation. However, few studies have focused on methods for controlling the movement performance of bio-syncretic robots by designing robotic structures and programming actuation bio-entities. In this paper, a theoretical model was derived considering kinematics and hydromechanics to describe the dynamics of a dolphin-shaped microstructure and to control the bio-syncretic swimmer movement by establishing the relationships between the swimming velocity of the bio-swimmer, the cell seeding concentration and the cell contractility. The proposed theoretical model was then verified with the fabricated biomimetic swimmer prototype actuated by equivalent external magnetism replacing the bio-entity force based on the study of living, beating cardiomyocyte contractility. This work can improve the development of bio-syncretic robots with an approach to preplanning the seeding concentration of cells for controlling the movement velocity of microstructures, and is also meaningful for biomimetic robots, medical treatments and interventional therapy applications.