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Updated: Sep 2, 2025

Bioinspired Soft Robot with Incorporated Microelectrodes

Bioinspired Soft Robot with Incorporated Microelectrodes

Published on: February 28, 2020

Ultrafast small-scale soft electromagnetic robots.

Guoyong Mao¹, David Schiller^2,3, Doris Danninger^2,3

¹Soft Materials Lab, Linz Institute of Technology, Johannes Kepler University, Altenberger Str. 69, 4040, Linz, Austria. guoyong.mao@jku.at.

Nature Communications

|August 9, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed small, soft electromagnetic robots capable of high-speed locomotion. These bio-inspired robots utilize liquid metal channels and magnetic fields for versatile movement, including running, swimming, and jumping.

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Last Updated: Sep 2, 2025

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Materials Science
Biophysics

Background:

High-speed locomotion is crucial for animal survival in diverse environments.
Developing versatile and ultrafast motion for bio-inspired soft robots requires advanced driving mechanisms and designs.

Purpose of the Study:

To present a novel class of small-scale soft electromagnetic robots.
To investigate the dynamic resonant performance of these robots.
To demonstrate their capabilities in various locomotion modes and cargo transport.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of soft robots using curved elastomeric bilayers with embedded printed liquid metal channels.
Driving the robots using Lorentz forces generated by alternating currents in a static magnetic field.
Experimental and theoretical investigation of dynamic resonant performance.

Main Results:

Tethered robots achieved ultra-high running speeds of 70 body lengths per second (BL/s) on 3D-corrugated substrates and 35 BL/s on planar substrates.
Maximum swimming speed reached 4.8 BL/s in water.
Untethered prototypes demonstrated running and swimming speeds of 2.1 BL/s and 1.8 BL/s, respectively.

Conclusions:

The developed soft electromagnetic robots exhibit robust and versatile locomotion capabilities.
These robots show potential for applications requiring high-speed movement in complex environments.
The Lorentz force-driven mechanism offers an effective approach for soft robotic actuation.