Programmable digital liquid metal droplets in reconfigurable magnetic fields
Programmable digital liquid metal droplets in reconfigurable magnetic fields
Gallium-based liquid metals exhibit excellent locomotion and deformation capabilities under external stimuli and has potential in developing intelligent robots. Programing the locomotion and morphology of the Liquid metal (LM) to endow it with functionalities and intelligence as robots is charming but remains challenging. In this study, we develop a programmable digital LM (PDLM) control platform that can realize versatile locomotion and morphological manipulation of magnetic LM (MLM) droplets using arrays of electromagnets. We demonstrate on-demand transportation, deformation, breakup, and merging of multiple MLM droplets simultaneously and precisely. We find that the intriguing behaviors of MLM under a magnetic field are due to the interplay of surface tension and magnetic forces. Furthermore, we present a functional cooperative droplet robot by equipping the MLM droplets with three-dimensionally printed microtool modules. We show that both the position and orientation of a rod-shaped object can be precisely manipulated by the cooperation of the MLM droplet robots. More interestingly, we explore the capability of the MLM droplet robots for cooperatively handling a copper wire to connect and disconnect electronic circuits. Finally, we demonstrate that the PDLM control platform is capable of programing a group of MLM droplets to accomplish a digital display task. We believe that the PDLM control system presents a promising potential in developing LM-based reconfigurable circuits, digital display systems, and biomimetic soft robotic systems with high controllability, multifunctionalities, and intelligence.
electromagnet arrays, Galinstan, liquid metal, programmable morphologies, robot
37670-37679
Li, Xiangpeng
73f32905-ad7c-4ce3-93a4-78237b98f4fb
Li, Shen
43286bfa-4f45-4685-89b2-7955d430c51a
Lu, Yangming
d35260f4-37ae-412e-983e-e02c6ef32e79
Liu, Maze
085c2bdf-2a0b-4992-b6b0-1e539ac3d242
Li, Fangxia
a3d24e25-2342-4b61-92f7-6afc1ae815ce
Yang, Hao
6cdeb7bb-81d1-4a45-b3a0-0f0190c01a8a
Tang, Shi Yang
1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4
Zhang, Shiwu
da008f91-71fa-42fb-879e-68b91429e1d6
Li, Weihua
e2555036-0e48-425a-afeb-db6ffba5238e
Sun, Lining
e4660e06-1315-4059-985f-2cb1e50c5fc8
19 August 2020
Li, Xiangpeng
73f32905-ad7c-4ce3-93a4-78237b98f4fb
Li, Shen
43286bfa-4f45-4685-89b2-7955d430c51a
Lu, Yangming
d35260f4-37ae-412e-983e-e02c6ef32e79
Liu, Maze
085c2bdf-2a0b-4992-b6b0-1e539ac3d242
Li, Fangxia
a3d24e25-2342-4b61-92f7-6afc1ae815ce
Yang, Hao
6cdeb7bb-81d1-4a45-b3a0-0f0190c01a8a
Tang, Shi Yang
1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4
Zhang, Shiwu
da008f91-71fa-42fb-879e-68b91429e1d6
Li, Weihua
e2555036-0e48-425a-afeb-db6ffba5238e
Sun, Lining
e4660e06-1315-4059-985f-2cb1e50c5fc8
Li, Xiangpeng, Li, Shen, Lu, Yangming, Liu, Maze, Li, Fangxia, Yang, Hao, Tang, Shi Yang, Zhang, Shiwu, Li, Weihua and Sun, Lining
(2020)
Programmable digital liquid metal droplets in reconfigurable magnetic fields.
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12 (33), .
(doi:10.1021/acsami.0c08179).
Abstract
Gallium-based liquid metals exhibit excellent locomotion and deformation capabilities under external stimuli and has potential in developing intelligent robots. Programing the locomotion and morphology of the Liquid metal (LM) to endow it with functionalities and intelligence as robots is charming but remains challenging. In this study, we develop a programmable digital LM (PDLM) control platform that can realize versatile locomotion and morphological manipulation of magnetic LM (MLM) droplets using arrays of electromagnets. We demonstrate on-demand transportation, deformation, breakup, and merging of multiple MLM droplets simultaneously and precisely. We find that the intriguing behaviors of MLM under a magnetic field are due to the interplay of surface tension and magnetic forces. Furthermore, we present a functional cooperative droplet robot by equipping the MLM droplets with three-dimensionally printed microtool modules. We show that both the position and orientation of a rod-shaped object can be precisely manipulated by the cooperation of the MLM droplet robots. More interestingly, we explore the capability of the MLM droplet robots for cooperatively handling a copper wire to connect and disconnect electronic circuits. Finally, we demonstrate that the PDLM control platform is capable of programing a group of MLM droplets to accomplish a digital display task. We believe that the PDLM control system presents a promising potential in developing LM-based reconfigurable circuits, digital display systems, and biomimetic soft robotic systems with high controllability, multifunctionalities, and intelligence.
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Published date: 19 August 2020
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by grants from NSFC under grant nos. 61873339 and 51828503, by a grant from National Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under grant no. BK20190096, and by the State Key Laboratory of Applied Optics.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.
Keywords:
electromagnet arrays, Galinstan, liquid metal, programmable morphologies, robot
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 481752
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/481752
ISSN: 1944-8244
PURE UUID: 4159e9e1-80c3-4f7d-9125-36a9ea7de0c5
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Date deposited: 07 Sep 2023 16:35
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:13
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Contributors
Author:
Xiangpeng Li
Author:
Shen Li
Author:
Yangming Lu
Author:
Maze Liu
Author:
Fangxia Li
Author:
Hao Yang
Author:
Shi Yang Tang
Author:
Shiwu Zhang
Author:
Weihua Li
Author:
Lining Sun
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