These Micro-Robots Were Inspired by Mini-Bugs and Water Striders
The conceptual framework of two diminutive insect-inspired robots could eventually be applied to environmental monitoring, surgical procedures, and search-and-rescue missions. Weighing eight and 55 milligrams, these bots, modeled after a mini-bug and a water strider, are claimed to potentially be the world’s “smallest, lightest, and fastest fully functional” micro-robots, as per Washington State University reports.
Crafted by a team of WSU researchers and unveiled at the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, the robots owe their small size to innovative movement actuators, each weighing less than a milligram. Led by associate professor Néstor O. Pérez-Arancibia, the team utilized a shape memory alloy to construct the parts. These alloys change shape when heated but retain their original form upon cooling, eliminating the need for traditional motors in the micro-bots and avoiding bulky moving parts.
Micro-Robot Marvels
The actuators of both the mini-bug and water strider robots consist of two shape memory alloy wires, each measuring 1/1000th of an inch in width. Through small electrical currents heating and cooling the wires, these actuators can move their fins or limbs rapidly—up to 40 times per second—while exhibiting the capability to lift over 150 times their own weight.
Conor Trygstad, a mechanical and materials engineering PhD student and lead author of the study, highlighted the mechanical robustness of the robots, stating, “They’re very mechanically sound. The development of the very lightweight actuator opens up new realms in micro-robotics,” as featured in WSU’s recent spotlight.
While these robots showcase impressive feats among their mechanical counterparts, Conor Trygstad acknowledges that they “still [lag] behind their biological relatives.”
Micro-Robots’ Cautious Pace
Presently, both robots move through their environments at approximately six millimeters per second, considerably slower than a five-milligram ant, which travels at about a meter per second. The micro-robots’ design plays a role in this limitation; for instance, the water strider bot mimics its natural counterpart’s limb flapping for water travel, but the inspiration, in reality, uses leg rowing for faster movement. Additionally, the current reliance on wired power sources hinders practical real-world applications at the moment.
In future endeavors, the team plans to replicate additional insect species and develop an enhanced water strider iteration capable of transitioning between moving atop and beneath the water surface. Exploring options like catalytic combustion or incorporating small batteries holds the potential to significantly enhance the robots’ utility and operational range. With ongoing improvements in breakthrough designs, similar micro-robots could eventually find applications in monitoring challenging or hazardous environments, assisting in miniature fabrication techniques and surgical procedures, and even contributing to artificial pollination efforts.
Read the original article on: Popular Science
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