EFRI C3 SoRo: Programming Thermobiochemomechanical (TBCM) Multiplex Robot Gels

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This project aims to integrate sensing, computation, and actuation directly into the body structure of a micrometer- to millimeter-scale soft robot, by creating a new class of soft hydrogels that can be thermally and biochemically programmed. This integration is critical for constructing autonomous robots that can function in complex, real-world environments. This project seeks to develop a comprehensive framework for the design, programming, validation, and fabrication of these gel robots. The robots will respond to temperature and biochemical cues from the environment, make decisions, and execute multistep motion programs that will allow them to move in a desired direction. The project will address fundamental scientific and engineering challenges in hydrogel mechanics, biochemical sensing, path planning, and controls for continuum soft robots, making it possible to efficiently design and manufacture the hardware for gel robots and to program them with biochemical software. These robots will have potential applications in marine, biological and medical environments, including in vivo targeting and diagnostics in medical settings. The project will also provide research opportunities to undergraduate and K-12 students, including those from underrepresented groups, via new and established outreach programs at Johns Hopkins University. The goal of this project is to develop a framework for building a broad class of submillimeter-scale thermobiochemomechanical (TBCM) C3 robots in the form of architected hydrogels in which systems of chemical sensors, actuators, and computing devices replace the electronic sensors, actuators, and controllers in traditional robots. The research objectives of the project are to develop thermal and DNA responsive hydrogels and utilize these materials with advanced patterning and printing techniques to assemble robots that can respond to TBCM cues which are of relevance to human environmental and physiological conditions. Hardware design will be guided by a biomolecular software framework, mechanics based computational and reduced-order control models to enable planning and sensory feedback control. The broader impacts of this work include K-12 outreach programs to foster participation in STEM, dissemination of the research in peer-reviewed journals, dissemination of code and data and the development of new educational materials for undergraduate and graduate instruction.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.