Hydrogel Actuator with a Built-In Stimulator Using Liquid Metal for Local Control
Hydrogel Actuator with a Built-In Stimulator Using Liquid Metal for Local Control
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DOI：
10.1002/aisy.202000008
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发表时间：
2020-05-01
影响因子：
7.4
通讯作者：
Ota, Hiroki
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Matsubara, Ken;Tachibana, Daiki;Ota, Hiroki
水凝胶致动器，包括将外部刺激转换成用于致动的机械运动的凝胶，因其有前途的应用而引起关注，例如在机器人中。驱动力是水或另一种溶剂的吸收或释放，这导致溶胀和收缩运动，进而导致更复杂的功能。然而，可以局部控制的实用水凝胶致动器，例如允许在刚体机器人中的关节周围局部致动的致动器，并不存在。在此，热响应水凝胶的驱动目标聚（N-异丙基丙烯酰胺）使用液态金属与刺激模块集成。刺激模块提供热作为对水凝胶致动器的外部刺激。致动器的运动由超软水凝胶线圈提供的热量触发，液体金属围绕驱动目标。由流过液态金属的电流产生的热量仅改变致动器的期望部分周围的温度，这使得能够对水凝胶致动器的单个部分进行电控制。将驱动靶和刺激器整合的概念有望促进致动器的功能性运动，并扩大水凝胶的潜在应用范围。
Hydrogel actuators, comprising gels that convert external stimuli into mechanical motion for actuation, are attracting attention for their promising applications, such as in robotics. The driving force is the absorption or release of water or another solvent, which results in swelling and shrinking motions, leading in turn to more complex functionalities. However, practical hydrogel actuators that can be controlled locally, such as ones that allow local actuation around the joints in rigid-bodied robots, do not exist. Herein, the driving target of a thermo-responsive hydrogel, poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide), is integrated with the stimulation module using a liquid metal. The stimulation module provides heat as an external stimulus to the hydrogel actuator. The motion of the actuator is triggered by the heat supplied by an ultrasoft hydrogel coil, with liquid metal surrounding the driving target. The heat generated by current flowing through the liquid metal changes the temperature only around the desired part of the actuator, which enables the electrical control of an individual part of the hydrogel actuator. The concept of integrating the driving target and stimulator is expected to facilitate functional movement of actuators and expand the range of potential applications of hydrogels.