3D printed acoustically programmable soft microactuators

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel approach to soft microrobotics by programming 3D printed polymer systems with acoustically controlled air bubbles, enabling remote reconfiguration and autonomous operation.

Contribution

It demonstrates the use of acoustically excited air bubbles in 3D printed polymers to create programmable, reconfigurable soft micromechanical systems for microrobotics.

Findings

Coupling bubble dynamics with pressure fields enables programmable interactions.

Acoustic forces can deform and reconfigure micromechanical structures.

The approach allows remote, on-demand control of soft microrobots.

Abstract

The concept of creating all-mechanical soft microrobotic systems has great potential to address outstanding challenges in biomedical applications, and introduce more sustainable and multifunctional products. To this end, magnetic fields and light have been extensively studied as potential energy sources. On the other hand, coupling the response of materials to pressure waves has been overlooked despite the abundant use of acoustics in nature and engineering solutions. Here, we show that programmed commands can be contained on 3D nanoprinted polymer systems with the introduction of selectively excited air bubbles and rationally designed compliant mechanisms. A repertoire of micromechanical systems is engineered using experimentally validated computational models that consider the effects of primary and secondary pressure fields on entrapped air bubbles and the surrounding fluid. Coupling the dynamics of bubble oscillators reveals rich acoustofluidic interactions that can be programmed in space and time. We prescribe kinematics by harnessing the forces generated through these interactions to deform structural elements, which can be remotely reconfigured on-demand with the incorporation of mechanical switches. These basic micromechanical systems will serve as the building blocks for the development of a novel class of untethered soft microrobots powered and controlled by acoustic signals.