Batteryless robots can automatically deform in mid air

Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, September 17 (Reporter Zhang Mengran) - Researchers at the University of Washington in the United States have developed a small robotic device that can change the way they fly in the air by folding during descent. The research results are published in the new issue of Science Robotics

Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, September 17 (Reporter Zhang Mengran) - Researchers at the University of Washington in the United States have developed a small robotic device that can change the way they fly in the air by folding during descent. The research results are published in the new issue of Science Robotics.

This type of micro aircraft weighs about 400 milligrams, which is about half the weight of a nail. When falling from a 40 meter high breeze, it can float a distance of a football field. Each device is designed without batteries, with only solar energy collection circuits and controllers to trigger these shape changes in mid air. They also carry onboard sensors to measure temperature, humidity, and other conditions during surges.

Researchers claim that origami technology has opened up new design space for micro air vehicles, combining inspiration from leaf geometric patterns with energy harvesting and micro actuators, allowing the aircraft to simulate the flight of different leaves in mid air. In the unfolded flat state, the origami structure rolls in chaos in the wind, similar to elm leaves; But switching to a folded state will change the airflow around it and achieve a stable descent, similar to the way maple leaves fall. This high energy efficiency method allows for battery free control of the descent of micro air vehicles.

The team stated that these aircraft systems solved several design challenges, such as being sufficiently rigid to avoid accidentally transitioning to a folded state before signaling; For example, with the ability to quickly transition between states, the device's onboard actuator only takes about 25 milliseconds to initiate folding; They can also change shape without being constrained by the power source, and the power collection circuit can provide energy using sunlight.

At present, micro air vehicles can only transition in one direction - from a rolling state to a descending state, but it allows researchers to control the landing of multiple micro air vehicles simultaneously. In the future, the device will be able to transition in two directions and will also support more precise landing under turbulent wind conditions.

Editor in Chief Circle

The robot is continuously improving! Their form and function are constantly iteratively upgraded, and their application scenarios are also rapidly expanding. From a morphological perspective, its appearance is not only limited to robotic arms, robotic arms, and humanoid robots, but also has developed a variety of new forms; From a functional perspective, they not only can chat and handle assembly line production tasks, but also learn to draw, dance, perform surgeries, and so on; From the perspective of application scenarios, they have penetrated into more detailed and professional scenarios, such as performing underground pipeline monitoring, in vivo drug delivery tasks, etc. These changes also mean that robot technology increasingly needs to be deeply intersected and integrated with other professional technologies in the field.

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