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An acoustically controlled helical microrobot.

Yong Deng1, Adrian Paskert2, Zhiyuan Zhang1

  • 1Acoustic Robotics Systems Lab (ARSL), Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Rüschlikon CH-8803, Switzerland.

Science Advances
|September 20, 2023
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a novel helical microrobot, 350 μm long, that swims using sound waves. Its direction can be controlled by adjusting acoustic frequency, enabling versatile microrobot locomotion.

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Area of Science:

  • Micro-robotics and Actuation
  • Acoustic Metamaterials
  • Biomimetic Engineering

Background:

  • Microrobots offer transformative potential across diverse scientific and medical fields.
  • Acoustically actuated microrobots are an emerging technology with significant promise.
  • Understanding acoustic-microstructure interactions is crucial for advancing acoustically powered microrobots.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To design and characterize an acoustically driven helical microrobot.
  • To investigate the relationship between microstructure geometry and acoustic actuation.
  • To demonstrate controllable locomotion of microrobots using sound stimuli.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of a 350 μm long, 100 μm diameter helical microrobot with a double-helix microstructure.
  • Utilizing acoustic fields in the 12-19 kHz range to actuate the microrobot.
  • Observing microrobot locomotion in 2D and 3D artificial vascular models using a single sound source.

Main Results:

  • The helical microrobot successfully achieved spiral locomotion, mimicking natural microswimmers.
  • The double-helix microstructure generated propulsion torque via interaction with the acoustic field.
  • Microrobot directionality was demonstrated to be tunable by altering acoustic frequency.

Conclusions:

  • A novel acoustically actuated helical microrobot capable of frequency-controlled locomotion has been developed.
  • This work advances the understanding of acoustic-microstructure interactions for microrobot design.
  • The developed microrobot shows potential for applications in microfluidics and medicine.