Design of a Magnetic Soft Inchworm Millirobot Based on Pre-Strained Elastomer with Micropillars.

ABSTRACT: Rather than using longitudinal "muscle" as in biological inchworm, the existing magnetic active elastomer (MAE)-based inchworm robots utilize magnetic torque to pull and push the soft body, which hinders its locomotion mobility. In this paper, a new pre-strained MAE inchworm millirobot with micropillars is proposed. The pre-strained elastomer serves as a pre-load muscle to contract the soft body, and the micropillars act as tiny feet to anchor the body during the locomotion. The proposed magnetic inchworm robot features a simple fabrication process that does not require special magnetization equipment. For the first time, the pre-load muscle is introduced in the design of magnetic inchworm robots, making it more like a real inchworm in terms of locomotion mechanism. The locomotion principl

SUBMITTER: Wei Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9844365 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature