Nanotechnology Now – Press Release: Virginia Tech physicists propose path to faster, more flexible robots: Virginia Tech physicists revealed a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery


Home > Press > Virginia Tech physicists propose path to faster, more flexible robots: Virginia Tech physicists revealed a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery

Virginia Tech physicist C. Nadir Kaplan (at left) and doctoral candidate Chinmay Katke (right) discovered a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery. Photo by Spencer Coppage for Virginia Tech.

CREDIT
Photo by Spencer Coppage for Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech physicist C. Nadir Kaplan (at left) and doctoral candidate Chinmay Katke (right) discovered a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery. Photo by Spencer Coppage for Virginia Tech.

CREDIT
Photo by Spencer Coppage for Virginia Tech.

Abstract:
In a May 15 paper released in the journal Physical Review Letters, Virginia Tech physicists revealed a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery.

Virginia Tech physicists propose path to faster, more flexible robots: Virginia Tech physicists revealed a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery


Blacksburg, VA | Posted on May 17th, 2024

The paper, written by doctoral candidate Chinmay Katke, assistant professor C. Nadir Kaplan, and co-author Peter A. Korevaar from Radboud University in the Netherlands, proposes a new physical mechanism that could speed up the expansion and contraction of hydrogels. For one thing, this opens up the possibility for hydrogels to replace rubber-based materials used to make flexible robots—enabling these fabricated materials to perhaps move with a speed and dexterity close to that of human hands.

Soft robots are already being used in manufacturing, where a hand-like device is programmed to grab an item from a conveyer belt—picture a hot dog or piece of soap—and place it in a container to be packaged. But the ones in use now lean on hydraulics or pneumatics to change the shape of the “hand” to pick up the item.

Akin to our own body, hydrogels mostly contain water and are everywhere around us, e.g., food jelly and shaving gel. Katke, Korevaar, and Kaplan’s research appears to have found a method that allows hydrogels to swell and contract much more quickly, which would improve their flexibility and capability to function in different settings.

What did the Virginia Tech scientists do?
Living organisms use osmosis for such activities as bursting seed dispersing fruits in plants or absorbing water in the intestine. Normally, we think of osmosis as a flow of water moving through a membrane, with bigger molecules like polymers unable to move through. Such membranes are called semi-permeable membranes and were thought to be necessary to trigger osmosis.

Previously, Korevaar and Kaplan had done experiments by using a thin layer of hydrogel film comprised of polyacrylic acid. They had observed that even though the hydrogel film allows both water and ions to pass through and is not selective, the hydrogel rapidly swells due to osmosis when ions are released inside the hydrogel and shrinks back again.

Katke, Korevaar, and Kaplan developed a new theory to explain the above observation. This theory tells that microscopic interactions between ions and polyacrylic acid can make hydrogel swell when the released ions inside the hydrogel are unevenly spread out. They called this “diffusio-phoretic swelling of the hydrogels.” Furthermore, this newly discovered mechanism allows hydrogels to swell much faster than what has been previously possible.

Why is that change important?
Kaplan explained: Soft agile robots are currently made with rubber, which “does the job but their shapes are changed hydraulically or pneumatically. This is not desired because it is difficult to imprint a network of tubes into these robots to deliver air or fluid into them.”

Imagine, Kaplan said, how many different things you can do with your hand and how fast you can do them owing to your neural network and the motion of ions under your skin. Because the rubber and hydraulics are not as versatile as your biological tissues, which is a hydrogel, state-of-the-art soft robots can only do a limited number of movements.”

How could this improve our lives?
Katke explained that the process they have researched allows the hydrogels to change shape then change back to their original form “significantly faster this way” in soft robots that are larger than ever before.

At present, only microscopic-sized hydrogel robots can respond to a chemical signal quickly enough to be useful and larger ones require hours to change shape, Katke said. By using the new diffusio-phoresis method, soft robots as large as a centimeter may be able to transform in just a few seconds, which is subject to further studies.

Larger agile soft robots that could respond quickly could improve assistive devices in healthcare, “pick-and-place” functions in manufacturing, search and rescue operations, cosmetics used for skincare, and contact lenses.

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Lon Wagner
Virginia Tech

Copyright © Virginia Tech

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious
Digg
Newsvine
Google
Yahoo
Reddit
Magnoliacom
Furl
Facebook

ARTICLE TITLE

News and information


Gene therapy relieves back pain, repairs damaged disc in mice: Study suggests nanocarriers loaded with DNA could replace opioids May 17th, 2024


Shedding light on perovskite hydrides using a new deposition technique: Researchers develop a methodology to grow single-crystal perovskite hydrides, enabling accurate hydride conductivity measurements May 17th, 2024


Oscillating paramagnetic Meissner effect and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in cuprate superconductor May 17th, 2024


What is “time” for quantum particles? Publication by TU Darmstadt researchers in renowned journal “Science Advances” May 17th, 2024

Robotics


A color-based sensor to emulate skin’s sensitivity: In a step toward more autonomous soft robots and wearable technologies, EPFL researchers have created a device that uses color to simultaneously sense multiple mechanical and temperature stimuli December 8th, 2023


Femtosecond laser technique births “dancing microrobots”: USTC’s breakthrough in multi-material microfabrication August 11th, 2023


A solid understanding of liquid-solid interaction: Pitt researcher receives $300K from the NSF to explore motion of viscous liquids interacting with solid bodies June 30th, 2023


Liquid metal sticks to surfaces without a binding agent June 9th, 2023

Possible Futures


Advances in priming B cell immunity against HIV pave the way to future HIV vaccines, shows quartet of new studies May 17th, 2024


International research team uses wavefunction matching to solve quantum many-body problems: New approach makes calculations with realistic interactions possible May 17th, 2024


Aston University researcher receives £1 million grant to revolutionize miniature optical devices May 17th, 2024


Gene therapy relieves back pain, repairs damaged disc in mice: Study suggests nanocarriers loaded with DNA could replace opioids May 17th, 2024

Nanomedicine


Diamond glitter: A play of colors with artificial DNA crystals May 17th, 2024


Advances in priming B cell immunity against HIV pave the way to future HIV vaccines, shows quartet of new studies May 17th, 2024


New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024


Good as gold – improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles April 5th, 2024

Discoveries


Diamond glitter: A play of colors with artificial DNA crystals May 17th, 2024


Finding quantum order in chaos May 17th, 2024


Advances in priming B cell immunity against HIV pave the way to future HIV vaccines, shows quartet of new studies May 17th, 2024


What is “time” for quantum particles? Publication by TU Darmstadt researchers in renowned journal “Science Advances” May 17th, 2024

Announcements


Diamond glitter: A play of colors with artificial DNA crystals May 17th, 2024


Finding quantum order in chaos May 17th, 2024


Oscillating paramagnetic Meissner effect and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in cuprate superconductor May 17th, 2024


What is “time” for quantum particles? Publication by TU Darmstadt researchers in renowned journal “Science Advances” May 17th, 2024

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters


International research team uses wavefunction matching to solve quantum many-body problems: New approach makes calculations with realistic interactions possible May 17th, 2024


Gene therapy relieves back pain, repairs damaged disc in mice: Study suggests nanocarriers loaded with DNA could replace opioids May 17th, 2024


Shedding light on perovskite hydrides using a new deposition technique: Researchers develop a methodology to grow single-crystal perovskite hydrides, enabling accurate hydride conductivity measurements May 17th, 2024


Oscillating paramagnetic Meissner effect and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in cuprate superconductor May 17th, 2024

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *