Arc-heating actuated active-morphing insect robots.

ABSTRACT: In nature, insects can swiftly move and actively morph to adapt to complex and varied conditions. However, replicating this capability in insect-scale robots requires sophisticated structural designs, which are difficult to achieve at such a small scale without fundamental hardware innovations. This work proposes a coupling mechanism between actuation and morphing by combining an arc-heating actuator and shape memory alloy wires, presenting a fast insect-scale robot (83.4 body lengths per second) capable of active morphing and self-recovery. The arc-heating actuator is designed to provide the kinetic energy and the thermal energy essential for deforming the wires. The robot can compress its body thickness to traverse through a gap of 70% its height smoothly within 2.2 seconds and is amphib

SUBMITTER: Che J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11950236 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature