Biomimetic Synchronization in biciliated robots

TL;DR

This study uses a biomimetic artificial ciliary system with self-propelling robots to investigate how mechanical coupling influences synchronization, revealing modes similar to biological systems and guiding control of their synchronized states.

Contribution

Introduces a controllable artificial ciliary system to explore synchronization mechanisms, demonstrating mode selection based on dissipation, advancing understanding of ciliary coordination.

Findings

Artificial cilia exhibit two distinct synchronization modes.

System tends to evolve towards the most dissipative mode.

Control over modes enables directed synchronization states.

Abstract

Direct mechanical coupling is known to be critical for establishing synchronization among cilia. However, the actual role of the connections is still elusive - partly because controlled experiments in live samples are challenging. Here, we employ an artificial ciliary system to address this issue. Two cilia are formed by chains of self-propelling robots and anchored to a shared base so that they are purely mechanically-coupled. The system mimics biological ciliary beating but allows fine control over the beating dynamics. We find that the artificial cilia exhibit rich motion behaviors, depending on the mechanical coupling scheme. Particularly, their synchronous beating display two distinct modes - analogous to those observed in C. reinhardtii, the biciliated model organism for studying synchronization. Close examination suggests that the system evolves towards the most dissipative mode. Using this guideline in both simulations and experiments, we are able to direct the system into a desired state by altering the modes' respective dissipation. Our results have significant implications in understanding the synchronization of cilia.