2024/12/18 by Yuchen Lai, Chuanqi Zang, Guoquan Luo +10 · 1 voice
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Micro and Nano Robotics #Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence #Soft Robotics and Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/sciadv.adp1176
openalex publication_date 2024/12/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Multimodal microrobots are of growing interest due to their capabilities to navigate diverse terrains, with promising applications in inspection, exploration, and biomedicine. Despite remarkable progress, it remains challenging to combine the attributes of excellent maneuverability, low power consumption, and high robustness in a single multimodal microrobot. We propose an architected design of a passively morphing wheel that can be stabilized at distinct geometric configurations, relying on asymmetric bending stiffness of bioinspired tentacle structures. By integrating such wheels with electromagnetic motors and a flexible body, we develop a highly compact, lightweight, multimodal microrobot (length ~32 mm and mass ~4.74 g) with three locomotion gaits. It has high motion speed (~21.2 BL/s), excellent agility (relative centripetal acceleration, ~206.9 BL/s 2 ), low power consumption (cost of transport, ~89), high robustness, and strong terrain adaptabilities. Integration of batteries and a wireless control module enables developments of an untethered microrobot that maintains high motion speed and excellent agility, with capabilities of traveling in hybrid terrains.