Ferromagnetic soft continuum robots

本文来自机器人领域顶刊，Science Robotics。介绍了一种铁磁软连续体机器人，主要贡献为1）介绍了一个基于磁性微粒和聚合物的软连续体机器人的制造方法，在机器人外表面涂了一层水凝胶，极大地降低了摩擦阻力；2）并研究了在磁场下，不同粒子体积分数下，此机器人的驱动性能；利用手动操控的磁铁，进行了许多实验证明该机器人性能的优异性。

铁磁软连续体机器人
Ferromagnetic soft continuum robots [1]
Paper Link
Authors: Kim, Yoonho, et al.
2019, Science Robotics

0.摘要 Abstract

小尺度的软连续体机器人能够在远程可控方式下主动转向和导航，它们在各种各样的领域都有巨大的潜力，特别是医疗应用方面。现存的连续体机器人，然而，经常受限于毫米级或厘米级尺度因为传统驱动机理中固有的小型化挑战，比如拉动机械线，给气动或者液压腔室充气，或者内置刚性磁铁用于操纵。另外，在导航过程中连续体机器人经受的阻力对于它们的应用来说是另一个挑战。这里，我们提供一个半毫米尺度，自润滑软连续体机器人，有基于磁驱动的全向转向和导航能力，这通过编程在它软体内的电磁区域使能，同时增长它表面的水凝胶。机器人的身体由一个软体聚合物基质的同质连续体和均匀分布的铁磁微型颗粒组成，能够小型化到低于直径几百微米，并且水凝胶皮肤减小了超过十倍的阻力。我们演示导航通过复杂和受限制的环境的能力，比如例如多发性动脉瘤的曲折脑血管仿体。我们进一步演示其他功能，比如通过一个嵌入机器人身体的功能核心进行可转向激光给药。鉴于其紧凑，自成一体的驱动方式和直观的操作方式，我们的铁磁软连续介质机器人可能会为微创的机器人手术开辟途径，以解决以前无法接近的病变，从而解决医疗保健方面的挑战和未满足的需求。
Small-scale soft continuum robots capable of active steering and navigation in a remotely controllable manner hold great promise in diverse areas, particularly in medical applications. Existing continuum robots, however, are often limited to millimeter or centimeter scales due to miniaturization challenges inherent in conventional actuation mechanisms, such as pulling mechanical wires, inflating pneumatic or hydraulic chambers, or embedding rigid magnets for manipulation. In addition, the friction experienced by the continuum robots during navigation poses another challenge for their applications. Here, we present a submillimeter-scale, self-lubricating soft continuum robot with omnidirectional steering and navigating capabilities based on magnetic actuation, which are enabled by programming ferromagnetic domains in its soft body while growing hydrogel skin on its surface. The robot’s body, composed of a homogeneous continuum of a soft polymer matrix with uniformly dispersed ferromagnetic microparticles, can be miniaturized below a few hundreds of micrometers in diameter, and the hydrogel skin reduces the friction by more than 10 times. We demonstrate the capability of navigating through complex and constrained environments, such as a tortuous cerebrovascular phantom with multiple aneurysms. We further demonstrate additional functionalities, such as steerable laser delivery through a functional core incorporated in the robot’s body. Given their compact, self-contained actuation and intuitive manipulation, our ferromagnetic soft continuum robots may open avenues to minimally invasive robotic surgery for previously inaccessible lesions, thereby addressing challenges and unmet needs in healthcare.

1.介绍 Introduction

半毫米精度的内置微型磁铁的软聚合物被提出
a submillimeter-scale device (500 μ