Related papers: Dynamics and Control of Bubble-Propelled Microrobo…
The spherical dynamics of a bubble in a compressible liquid has been studied extensively since the early work of Gilmore. Numerical codes to study the behavior, including when large non-spherical deformations are involved, have since been…
Bubble-propelled catalytic colloids stand out as a uniquely efficient design for artificial controllable micromachines, but so far lack a general theoretical framework that explains the physics of their propulsion. Here we develop a…
The study of gas bubble dynamics in liquids is justified by the numerous applications and natural phenomena where this two-phase flow is encountered. Gas bubbles move as forces are applied to them; their dynamics are full of nuances that…
Microrobots hold promise for applications ranging from targeted delivery to enhanced mixing at the microscale. However, current fabrication techniques suffer from limited throughput and material selection. Here, we demonstrate a versatile…
True microrobots, in contrast with externally controlled microparticles, must harvest or carry their own source of energy, as well as their own (preferably programmable) microcontroller of actuators for locomotion, using information…
Grip, walk, crawl, and jump. Soft robots are integrated functional structures composed of compliant mechanisms, whose activity spans various industrial applications such as surgery, healthcare, surveillance, and even planetary exploration.…
This study introduces the integration of hybrid magnetic and electric actuation mechanisms to achieve advanced motion capabilities for Janus particle (JP) microrobots. We demonstrate enhanced in-plane motion control through versatile…
A popular method to induce synthetic propulsion at the microscale is to use the forces created by surface-produced gas bubbles inside the asymmetric body of a catalytic swimmer (referred to in the literature as microrocket). Gas bubbles…
A spherical robot has many practical advantages as the entire electronics are protected within a hull and can be carried easily by any Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). However, its use is limited due to finding mounts for sensors. Pendulum…
In this paper we study the self-propulsion of a dumbbell micro-robot submerged in a viscous fluid. The micro-robot consists of two rigid spherical beads connected by a rod or a spring; the rod's/spring's length is changing periodically. The…
Inflated continuum robots are promising for a variety of navigation tasks, but controlling their motion with a small number of actuators is challenging. These inflated beam robots tend to buckle under compressive loads, producing extremely…
Design of robots at the small scale is a trial-and-error based process, which is costly and time-consuming. There are few dynamic simulation tools available to accurately predict the motion or performance of untethered microrobots as they…
In a microfluidic environment, the presence of bubbles is often detrimental to the functionality of the device, leading to clogging or cavitation, but microbubbles can also be an indispensable asset in other applications such as…
Bristle-bots are legged robots that can be easily made out of a toothbrush head and a small vibrating engine. Despite their simple appearance, the mechanism enabling them to propel themselves by exploiting friction with the substrate is far…
Drag reduction by microbubbles is a promising engineering method for improving ship performance. A fundamental theory of the phenomenon is lacking however, making actual design quite uphazard. We offer here a theory of drag reduction by…
The issue of the buckling mechanism in droplets stabilized by solid particles (armored droplets) is tackled at a mesoscopic level using dissipative particle dynamics simulations. We consider spherical water droplet in a decane solvent…
The evaporation of particle-laden droplets on engineered surfaces underpins a wide range of technologies, from printed electronics to biosensing. While the influence of substrate topography on passive particle deposition is well…
Understanding how substrate-attached bubbles respond to ultrasound is important for applications from industrial cleaning to biomedical therapy. Under ultrasonic excitation, bubbles can deform through Faraday instability and periodically…
Surface nanobubbles are stable gaseous phases in liquids that form on solid substrates. While their existence has been confirmed, there are many open questions related to their formation and dissolution processes along with their structures…
Thin film dynamics and associated instability mechanisms have triggered a wide range of scientific innovations, as attributed to their abilities of creating fascinating patterns over small scales. Here, we demonstrate a new thin film…