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Updated: Aug 14, 2025

Bioinspired Soft Robot with Incorporated Microelectrodes
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Self-vectoring electromagnetic soft robots with high operational dimensionality.

Wenbo Li1,2, Huyue Chen3, Zhiran Yi4

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China. wenboli@tongji.edu.cn.

Nature Communications
|January 12, 2023
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Summary

This study introduces self-vectoring electromagnetic soft robots (SESRs) that enable complex 3D movements and locomotion. These advanced soft robots offer enhanced control and versatility for applications in human-robot interaction and biomedical engineering.

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Area of Science:

  • Robotics
  • Materials Science
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Soft robots offer advantages for human-robot interaction and biomedical applications due to their flexibility.
  • Current soft robot designs are limited by actuation modes and controllable dimensions, restricting their degrees of freedom and dexterity.
  • Developing novel actuation methods is crucial for advancing soft robotic capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce self-vectoring electromagnetic soft robots (SESRs) with enhanced operational dimensionality.
  • To demonstrate the ability of SESRs to achieve complex 3D shape morphing and bioinspired locomotion.
  • To showcase the fast switching capabilities among different locomotion modes using passive magnetic fields.

Main Methods:

  • Development of SESRs utilizing self-vectoring electromagnetic actuators.
  • Active and instant adjustment and synthesis of interior electromagnetic vectors (EVs) within actuator sub-domains.
  • Control of SESRs through self-vectoring control in passive magnetic fields.

Main Results:

  • Achieved high-dimensional operation with fewer actuators and control signals compared to existing methods.
  • Demonstrated complex and rapid 3D shape morphing.
  • Exhibited bioinspired multimodal locomotion with fast mode switching.

Conclusions:

  • SESRs provide a new operational dimensionality for soft robots through actively synthesized electromagnetic vectors.
  • The intrinsic fast reprogrammability and selective actuation of SESRs significantly expand possibilities for soft robotic applications.
  • SESRs offer a promising platform for advanced soft robotics in areas like safe human-robot interaction and biomedical engineering.