Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Self-propelled, endlessly programmable artificial cilia: Simple microstructures that bend, twist and perform stroke-like motions could be used for soft robotics, medical devices and more

The microstructures in a radially arranged microarray , as seen here, can perform complex traveling waves of locally interacting posts .

CREDIT
Joanna Aizenberg/Harvard SEAS
The microstructures in a radially arranged microarray , as seen here, can perform complex traveling waves of locally interacting posts . CREDIT Joanna Aizenberg/Harvard SEAS

Abstract:
For years, scientists have been attempting to engineer tiny, artificial cilia for miniature robotic systems that can perform complex motions, including bending, twisting, and reversing. Building these smaller-than-a-human-hair microstructures typically requires multi-step fabrication processes and varying stimuli to create the complex movements, limiting their wide-scale applications.

Self-propelled, endlessly programmable artificial cilia: Simple microstructures that bend, twist and perform stroke-like motions could be used for soft robotics, medical devices and more

Cambridge, MA | Posted on May 6th, 2022

Now, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a single-material, single-stimuli microstructure that can outmaneuver even living cilia. These programmable, micron-scale structures could be used for a range of applications, including soft robotics, biocompatible medical devices, and even dynamic information encryption.

The research is published in Nature.

“Innovations in adaptive self-regulated materials that are capable of a diverse set of programmed motions represent a very active field, which is being tackled by interdisciplinary teams of scientists and engineers,” said Joanna Aizenberg, the Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science and Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at SEAS and senior author of the paper. “Advances achieved in this field may significantly impact the ways we design materials and devices for a variety of applications, including robotics, medicine and information technologies.”

Unlike previous research, which relied mostly on complex multi-component materials to achieve programmable movement of reconfigurable structural elements, Aizenberg and her team designed a microstructure pillar made of a single material — a photoresponsive liquid crystal elastomer. Because of the way the fundamental building blocks of the liquid crystal elastomer are aligned, when light hits the microstructure, those building blocks realign and the structure changes shape.

As this shape change occurs, two things happen. First, the spot where the light hits becomes transparent, allowing the light to penetrate further into the material, causing additional deformations. Second, as the material deforms and the shape moves, a new spot on the pillar is exposed to light, causing that area to also change shape.

This feedback loop propels the microstructure into a stroke-like cycle of motion.

“This internal and external feedback loop gives us a self-regulating material. Once you turn the light on, it does all its own work,” said Shucong Li, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard and co-first author of the paper.

When the light turns off, the material snaps back to its original shape.

The material’s specific twists and motions change with its shape, making these simple structures endlessly reconfigurable and tunable. Using a model and experiments, the researchers demonstrated the movements of round, square, L- and T-shaped, and palm-tree-shaped structures and laid out all the other ways the material can be tuned.

“We showed that we can program the choreography of this dynamic dance by tailoring a range of parameters, including illumination angle, light intensity, molecular alignment, microstructure geometry, temperature, and irradiation intervals and duration,” said Michael M. Lerch, a postdoctoral fellow in the Aizenberg Lab and co-first author of the paper.

To add another layer of complexity and functionality, the research team also demonstrated how these pillars interact with each other as part of an array.

“When these pillars are grouped together, they interact in very complex ways because each deforming pillar casts a shadow on its neighbor, which changes throughout the deformation process,” said Li. “Programming how these shadow-mediated self-exposures change and interact dynamically with each other could be useful for such applications as dynamic information encryption.”

“The vast design space for individual and collective motions is potentially transformative for soft robotics, micro-walkers, sensors, and robust information encryption systems,” said Aizenberg.

The paper was co-authored by James T. Waters, Bolei Deng, Reese S. Martens, Yuxing Yao, Do Yoon Kim, Katia Bertoldi, Alison Grinthal and Anna C. Balazs. It was supported in part by the U.S. Army Research Office, under grant number W911NF-17-1-0351 and the National Science Foundation through the Harvard University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center under award DMR-2011754.

####

For more information, please click here

Copyright © Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

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

Related Links

Paper:

Related News Press

News and information

Chung-Ang University researchers develop novel DNA biosensor for early diagnosis of cervical cancer: The electrochemical sensor, made of a graphitic nano-onion/molybdenum disulfide nanosheet composite, detects human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 and HPV-18, with high specificity September 8th, 2023

New compound unleashes the immune system on metastases September 8th, 2023

Machine learning contributes to better quantum error correction September 8th, 2023

Tests find no free-standing nanotubes released from tire tread wear September 8th, 2023

Robotics

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

Robot caterpillar demonstrates new approach to locomotion for soft robotics March 24th, 2023

CEA-Leti Barn-Owl Inspired, Object-Localization System Uses Up to ‘5 Orders of Magnitude’ Less Energy than Existing Technology: Paper in Nature Communications Describes Neuromorphic Computing Device With ‘Virtually No Power Consumption’ When Idle, Thanks to On-Chip Non-Volatile M July 8th, 2022

Law enforcement/Anti-Counterfeiting/Security/Loss prevention

New chip ramps up AI computing efficiency August 19th, 2022

How randomly moving electrons can improve cyber security May 27th, 2022

Turning any camera into a polarization camera: Metasurface attachment can be used with almost any optical system, from machine vision cameras to telescopes March 18th, 2022

Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy

Previously unknown pathway to batteries with high energy, low cost and long life: Newly discovered reaction mechanism overcomes rapid performance decline in lithium-sulfur batteries September 8th, 2023

Quantum powers researchers to see the unseen September 8th, 2023

Chloride ions from seawater eyed as possible lithium replacement in batteries of the future August 11th, 2023

Tattoo technique transfers gold nanopatterns onto live cells August 11th, 2023

Possible Futures

Chung-Ang University researchers develop novel DNA biosensor for early diagnosis of cervical cancer: The electrochemical sensor, made of a graphitic nano-onion/molybdenum disulfide nanosheet composite, detects human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 and HPV-18, with high specificity September 8th, 2023

New compound unleashes the immune system on metastases September 8th, 2023

Machine learning contributes to better quantum error correction September 8th, 2023

Tests find no free-standing nanotubes released from tire tread wear September 8th, 2023

Sensors

Electron collider on a chip June 30th, 2023

Researchers discover materials exhibiting huge magnetoresistance June 9th, 2023

Laser direct writing of Ga2O3/liquid metal-based flexible humidity sensors May 12th, 2023

Nanobiotechnology: How Nanomaterials Can Solve Biological and Medical Problems April 14th, 2023

Discoveries

Electronic detection of DNA nanoballs enables simple pathogen detection Peer-Reviewed Publication September 8th, 2023

Training quantum computers: physicists win prestigious IBM Award September 8th, 2023

Unlocking quantum potential: Harnessing high-dimensional quantum states with QDs and OAM: Generation of nearly deterministic OAM-based entangled states offers a bridge between photonic technologies for quantum advancements September 8th, 2023

Tests find no free-standing nanotubes released from tire tread wear September 8th, 2023

Announcements

Electronic detection of DNA nanoballs enables simple pathogen detection Peer-Reviewed Publication September 8th, 2023

Training quantum computers: physicists win prestigious IBM Award September 8th, 2023

Machine learning contributes to better quantum error correction September 8th, 2023

Tests find no free-standing nanotubes released from tire tread wear September 8th, 2023

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

Electronic detection of DNA nanoballs enables simple pathogen detection Peer-Reviewed Publication September 8th, 2023

Unlocking quantum potential: Harnessing high-dimensional quantum states with QDs and OAM: Generation of nearly deterministic OAM-based entangled states offers a bridge between photonic technologies for quantum advancements September 8th, 2023

Chung-Ang University researchers develop novel DNA biosensor for early diagnosis of cervical cancer: The electrochemical sensor, made of a graphitic nano-onion/molybdenum disulfide nanosheet composite, detects human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 and HPV-18, with high specificity September 8th, 2023

New compound unleashes the immune system on metastases September 8th, 2023

Military

Quantum powers researchers to see the unseen September 8th, 2023

Scientists edge toward scalable quantum simulations on a photonic chip: A system using photonics-based synthetic dimensions could be used to help explain complex natural phenomena June 30th, 2023

The picture of health: Virginia Tech researchers enhance bioimaging and sensing with quantum photonics June 30th, 2023

With new experimental method, researchers probe spin structure in 2D materials for first time: By observing spin structure in “magic-angle” graphene, a team of scientists led by Brown University researchers have found a workaround for a long-standing roadblock in the field of two May 12th, 2023

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project