Dataset Information

Electrically Driven Microengineered Bioinspired Soft Robots.

ABSTRACT: To create life-like movements, living muscle actuator technologies have borrowed inspiration from biomimetic concepts in developing bioinspired robots. Here, the development of a bioinspired soft robotics system, with integrated self-actuating cardiac muscles on a hierarchically structured scaffold with flexible gold microelectrodes is reported. Inspired by the movement of living organisms, a batoid-fish-shaped substrate is designed and reported, which is composed of two micropatterned hydrogel layers. The first layer is a poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel substrate, which provides a mechanically stable structure for the robot, followed by a layer of gelatin methacryloyl embedded with carbon nanotubes, which serves as a cell culture substrate, to create the actuation component for the soft body robot. In addition, flexible Au microelectrodes are embedded into the biomimetic scaffold, which not only enhance the mechanical integrity of the device, but also increase its electrical conductivity. After culturing and maturation of cardiomyocytes on the biomimetic scaffold, they show excellent myofiber organization and provide self-actuating motions aligned with the direction of the contractile force of the cells. The Au microelectrodes placed below the cell layer further provide localized electrical stimulation and control of the beating behavior of the bioinspired soft robot.

SUBMITTER: Shin SR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6082116 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Electrically Driven Microengineered Bioinspired Soft Robots.

Shin Su Ryon SR Migliori Bianca B Miccoli Beatrice B Li Yi-Chen YC Mostafalu Pooria P Seo Jungmok J Mandla Serena S Enrico Alessandro A Antona Silvia S Sabarish Ram R Zheng Ting T Pirrami Lorenzo L Zhang Kaizhen K Zhang Yu Shrike YS Wan Kai-Tak KT Demarchi Danilo D Dokmeci Mehmet R MR Khademhosseini Ali A Khademhosseini Ali A

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) 20180111 10

To create life-like movements, living muscle actuator technologies have borrowed inspiration from biomimetic concepts in developing bioinspired robots. Here, the development of a bioinspired soft robotics system, with integrated self-actuating cardiac muscles on a hierarchically structured scaffold with flexible gold microelectrodes is reported. Inspired by the movement of living organisms, a batoid-fish-shaped substrate is designed and reported, which is composed of two micropatterned hydrogel ...[more]

PMID: 29323433

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Project description:Natural motion types found in skeletal and muscular systems of vertebrate animals inspire researchers to transfer this ability into engineered motion, which is highly desired in robotic systems. Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have shown promising capabilities as artificial muscles for driving such structures, as they are soft, lightweight, and can generate large strokes. For maximum performance, dielectric elastomer membranes need to be sufficiently pre-stretched. This fact is challenging, because it is difficult to integrate pre-stretched membranes into entirely soft systems, since the stored strain energy can significantly deform soft elements. Here, we present a soft robotic structure, possessing a bioinspired skeleton integrated into a soft body element, driven by an antagonistic pair of DEA artificial muscles, that enable the robot bending. In its equilibrium state, the setup maintains optimum isotropic pre-stretch. The robot itself has a length of 60 mm and is based on a flexible silicone body, possessing embedded transverse 3D printed struts. These rigid bone-like elements lead to an anisotropic bending stiffness, which only allows bending in one plane while maintaining the DEA's necessary pre-stretch in the other planes. The bones, therefore, define the degrees of freedom and stabilize the system. The DEAs are manufactured by aerosol deposition of a carbon-silicone-composite ink onto a stretchable membrane that is heat cured. Afterwards, the actuators are bonded to the top and bottom of the silicone body. The robotic structure shows large and defined bimorph bending curvature and operates in static as well as dynamic motion. Our experiments describe the influence of membrane pre-stretch and varied stiffness of the silicone body on the static and dynamic bending displacement, resonance frequencies and blocking forces. We also present an analytical model based on the Classical Laminate Theory for the identification of the main influencing parameters. Due to the simple design and processing, our new concept of a bioinspired DEA based robotic structure, with skeletal and muscular reinforcement, offers a wide range of robotic application.

Dataset Information

Electrically Driven Microengineered Bioinspired Soft Robots.

Publications

Electrically Driven Microengineered Bioinspired Soft Robots.

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