Bioinspiration & Biomimetics最新文献

The field of soft robotics has shown unprecedented growth in research efforts, scientific achievements, and technological advancements. Bioinspiration and biomimetics have played an instrumental role in the birth and growth of soft robotics. What is next for this field? To promote soft robotics research to the next level and have a broader impact in robotics and engineering fields, in this roadmap, we argue that two research directions should be strengthened i) more structured, formal methods and tools for designing and developing soft robots and bioinspired robots ii) more concrete applications of bioinspired soft robots in diverse sectors of human activities. This article provides a roadmap for the design of bioinspired soft robots, the integration of soft robot systems, and their applications in industry and services. Scientists and experts describe the state-of-the art and the perspectives of bioinspired, model-informed design of soft robots, outlining the challenges in developing complex soft robotic systems, and applications of soft robots in diverse fields. .

Nature has remained one of the key sources of inspiration for human technology. While striking for higher efficiency, design improvements in power-generating turbines have started to reach a saturation point. Biomimicry- learning from nature, has great potential for significant performance improvements. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current trends in research of bioinspired technology on wind and hydrokinetic turbines. The aim is to identify the most effective bioinspired methods and the factors affecting the turbine performance. Various methods adopted are inspired by animals and plants and their interaction with fluid to enhance aero/hydrodynamic properties. These promising methods include the humpback whale tubercle and bird wing, where flow characteristics can be improved such as delaying the stall conditions and suppressing flow separation. Methods inspired by dragonfly wings, sea pen leaves, and plant seeds showed substantial merit for operating at low wind speeds, as a better glide ratio, enabling them to be suitable for low wind speed turbines. Furthermore, additional surface and structural modifications are explored, and their contributions are discussed in this paper. Various biomimicry methods were compared and critically analysed. This paper closes with a brief overview of future development options.

Euplectella aspergillum(E.a.) is a remarkable deep-sea glass sponge that has attracted attention from researchers across various disciplines. This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of E.a., focusing on its unique structural and mechanical properties. This sponge species is found mostly in the Pacific Ocean's deep waters at depths ranging from 100 to 1000 m. They have complicated hierarchical structures that span the nanoscale to the macroscale. The sponge's cylindrical, lattice-like structure is made up of silica spicules arranged in a square grid pattern and strengthened by diagonal and helical components. The composition and geometry of individual spicules are also summarised and discussed. Each spicule consists of concentric silica layers separated by organic interlayers. This hierarchical structure contributes to the spicules' exceptional mechanical properties, including enhanced bending capacity, tensile strength, and fracture toughness. The review also explores the spicule bundle interlocking system, which provides additional structural integrity to the overall skeleton. This review also gathers and depicts various experimental techniques and modelling approaches used to investigate the mechanical behaviour of E.a., including nanoindentation, and finite element analysis. These studies have revealed toughening mechanisms that allow the sponge to withstand the challenging deep-sea environment. Some real-world applications inspired by E.a.'s structure, with great potential in architectural designs and advanced materials for the aerospace and automotive industries, are highlighted.

Jellyfish achieve efficient pulse jetting through large-amplitude, low-frequency deformations of a soft bell. This is made possible through large localised deformations at the bell margin. This paper develops a novel soft-robotic underwater pulse jetting method that harnesses the buckling of flexible tubes to generate thrust. Soft material instability is controlled through variation of internal water pressure in the tubes, where we demonstrate repeatable large-amplitude deformations with bell flexion angles of 29 ± 1.5^∘over a frequency range of 0.2-1.1 Hz. The actuator is used to propel a soft robotic platform through water, achieving instantaneous velocities of up to 5 cm s^-1with no noticeable degradation in performance over 1000 pressure cycles.

Multimodal miniature soft robots, with their higher movement flexibility and environmental adaptability, represent a crucial direction for the future development of soft robots. Magnetic-driven robots, owing to their advantages such as excellent remote wireless control, fast response speed, and ease of integrated manufacturing, are the main driving method for robots to achieve multimodal locomotion. However, challenges persist in the development of magnetic miniature soft robots (MMSRs) with multimodal locomotion, including issues like interference between locomotion modes and low load capacity. Efforts are still required to design more balanced and refined performance in multimodal MMSRs. In this perspective, we review the recent progress of magnetic-driven soft robots with different locomotion modes, as well as multimodal MMSRs integrating 2-4 locomotion modes, and propose potential future directions for the development of multimodal MMSRs.

To address the challenges of scaling biologically inspired deployable structures, particularly focusing on translating the compact folding mechanism of earwig hind wings into human-scale engineering applications. Biological folding systems often lose structural efficiency at larger scales due to scaling laws, such as the square-cube law, making thickness and strength critical considerations. We analysed the geometric principles underlying the earwig (Dermaptera) wing-folding mechanism and developed a parametric design methodology to replicate these principles for thick-panel materials. Thickness accommodation techniques derived from origami engineering were integrated into the design to ensure collision-free and structurally feasible folding. Simple prototypes were fabricated to confirm that the proposed folding patterns could be implemented without interference when using panels of finite thickness. The developed design method successfully implemented the complex biological folding mechanism into thick-panel structures suitable for large-scale engineering applications. Deployment experiments demonstrated that the prototypes maintained structural integrity, achieved efficient folding and deployment, and effectively resolved typical issues caused by material thickness. This study offers a practical approach for scaling biological folding mechanisms to human-scale engineering applications, potentially impacting diverse fields such as aerospace, architecture, and deployable structural systems. It contributes to biomimetic engineering by bridging the gap between intricate biological models and practical engineering implementations.

Aquatic ecosystems vital to biodiversity and climate change-such as coral reefs, kelp forests, and mangrove forests-are often cluttered with natural obstacles. To navigate these complex habitats, fish have evolved relatively small body sizes and outstanding maneuverability. In contrast, most unmanned underwater vehicles currently deployed for ocean monitoring are bulky and slow, limiting their ability to access these environments. Developing small and agile underwater robots that mimic native fish species provides a unique opportunity for automated sampling of dynamic aquatic ecosystems. In this paper, we present BlueGuppy, a miniature, low-cost, and untethered fish-like robot (9.5×2.4×3.0cm, 33.1 g) capable of maneuvering with a single actuator. It achieves swimming speeds of up to 2.8 body lengths per second and can execute tight turns with small circles 1.4 body lengths in radius. BlueGuppy can generate a net thrust even in the presence of an incoming flow, but the flow field around BlueGuppy only mirrors that of biological organisms when it is free-swimming, underscoring the importance of untethered robots for biomimetic research. We explored the maneuverability of BlueGuppy by tuning its kinematics. By varying its flapping frequencies and temporal bias, BlueGuppy can access a wide range of speeds and turning curvatures. The combination of speed, maneuverability, and simplicity establishes BlueGuppy as a unique platform in the literature with tremendous potential for both uncovering the biomechanics of schooling fish and advancing the state-of-the-art in autonomous ocean sampling.

This study aims to enhance our understanding of human locomotion's adaptability to ground-level downward perturbations, focusing on hopping at preferred frequencies. By categorizing perturbations into early (ESP), mid (MSP), and late (LSP) stance phase and by analyzing the resulting biomechanical responses, we develop and validate a model that accurately replicates and predicts these behaviors. The spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) model, while capturing basic hopping dynamics, was inadequate for explaining subjects' responses. We introduced the sensory modulated spring (SMS) model, incorporating force, length, and velocity feedback (VFB), with gains optimized through genetic algorithms for enhanced accuracy. Our findings indicate distinct response patterns based on perturbation timing, highlighting the complexity of human adaptive mechanisms. The SMS model outperformed the SLIP model in replicating normal hopping behavior, while length and force feedback enable stable and economic human-like hopping, and VFB enables replicating humans' transient response to perturbation. Inspired by energy flow and behavioral changes in the experimental data, we introduced an extended SMS model with event-based adaptation at maximum compression and apex moment. The capability of this model to predict human perturbation recovery in hopping is demonstrated through systematic evaluation, including stability analyses and assessment of transient and steady-state responses. This study advances template-based modeling by integrating high-level reflexes besides local sensory feedback, offering a novel tool for understanding the inherent adaptability of human locomotion. The introduced adaptive model provides a novel framework for future research on adjustments to environmental challenges, with potential applications in designing effective rehabilitation protocols and assistive locomotion devices.

Maneuvering in fish is complex and offers inspiration in the development of the next generation bio-inspired underwater vehicles (BUVs). Balancing desired functionality with minimal mechanical complexity is a challenge in developing a BUV. This study presents a single-actuator turning strategy for the Tunabot, a bio-inspired robotic fish, using asymmetric tail-beat timing to generate turning forces. Biological fish, such as tuna, adjust tail kinematics for maneuverability. Following this principle, the proposed control method modifies stroke duration through a single motor, synchronized by a digital encoder. Experiments were conducted in a tank, using the dorsal-view high-speed video and DeepLabCut motion tracking technology to analyze and quantify turning radius and swimming velocity. A 66% asymmetric difference in tail-beat timing resulted in a turning radius of 1.42 body lengths at a certain base frequency. Scaling laws were developed to reveal the fluid dynamics and predict the turning radius and swimming speed of the Tunabot given known tailbeat frequencies. Power consumption data was gathered for asymmetric maneuvers and compared to their symmetric equivalents. These findings demonstrate that asymmetric tail-beat control enables effective turning without dedicated steering mechanisms, offering novel insights for designing highly maneuverable underwater bio-robots with low power consumption.

The tail of a bird-or a bird-inspired aerial robot-is an aerodynamically effective structure that enhances efficiency, stability, and manoeuvrability through attitude control and morphing. Optimising the morphology and structure of the tail can further improve the flight performance of such flyers. Inspired by previous studies on bird tails, we designed and developed a flexible tail capable of deforming in a bird-like manner. We investigated the effect of tail flexibility on the flight performance of a bird-inspired aerial robot through wind tunnel experiments and computational fluid dynamic analyses. Our results demonstrate that passive morphing of a tail with appropriate flexibility can adjust the tail surface orientation to direct aerodynamic force forward via pressure at the leading edge, thereby improving the lift-to-drag ratio and overall flight efficiency of the aerial robot. The proposed design also enables tail weight reduction, contributing to improved stability and manoeuvrability. These findings highlight tail flexibility as a key design parameter for improving the performance of bird-inspired aerial robots.