Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2022 - MD-18

series of complex manufacturing steps
that integrate the limbs, electronic and
active components. The process results
in heavier weights, bulkier volumes and
reduced force output compared to robots
that could be built using this new method.
The key in the UCLA-led, all-in-one
method is the design and printing of
piezoelectric metamaterials - a class of
intricate lattice materials that can change
shape and move in response to an electric
field or create electrical charge as a result
of physical forces.
The use of active materials that can
translate electricity to motions is not new.
However, these materials generally have
limits in their range of motion and distance
of travel. They also need to be connected
to gearbox-like transmission systems
in order to achieve desired motions.
By contrast, the UCLA-developed robotic
materials - each the size of a penny
- are composed of intricate piezoelectric
and structural elements that are designed
to bend, flex, twist, rotate, expand, or contract
at high speeds.
The team also presented a methodology
to design these robotic materials so
users could make their own models and
print the materials into a robot directly.
Using the technique, the team built and
demonstrated three " meta-bots " with different
capabilities. One robot can navigate
around S-shaped corners and randomly
placed obstacles, another can escape in
response to a contact impact, while the
third robot could walk over rough terrain
and even make small jumps.
These " meta-bots " can also explore
hazardous environments. In a collapsed
building, for example, a swarm of such
tiny robots armed with integrated sensing
parts could quickly access confined
spaces, assess threat levels, and help rescue
efforts by finding people trapped in
the rubble.
For more information, contact Christine
Wei-li Lee at clee@seas.ucla.edu.
Insect-Scale Robots Take Flight
Electroluminescent soft artificial muscles for insect-scale robots enhance motion tracking
and communication.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
F
ireflies that light up dusky backyards
have sparked the inspiration of scientists
at MIT. Taking a cue from nature, they
built electroluminescent soft artificial muscles
for flying, insect-scale robots. The tiny
artificial muscles that control the robots'
wings emit colored light during flight.
This electroluminescence could enable
the robots to communicate with
each other. If sent on a search-and-rescue
mission into a collapsed building,
for instance, a robot that finds survivors
could use lights to signal others and call
for help.
The ability to emit light also brings
these microscale robots, which weigh
barely more than a paper clip, one step
closer to flying on their own outside
the lab. These robots are so lightweight
that they can't carry sensors, so researchers
must track them using bulky
infrared cameras that don't work well
outdoors. Now, they've shown that they
can track the robots precisely using the
light they emit and just three smartphone
cameras.
" If you think of large-scale robots,
they can communicate using a lot of different
tools - Bluetooth, wireless, all
those sorts of things. But for a tiny, power-constrained
robot, we are forced to
think about new modes of communication.
This is a major step toward flying
these robots in outdoor environments
18
Inspired by fireflies, MIT researchers have created soft actuators that can emit light in different colors or patterns.
(Image: Courtesy of the researchers)
These artificial muscles, which control the wings of featherweight flying robots, light up while the robot is in
flight, which provides a low-cost way to track the robots and also could enable them to communicate. (Image:
Courtesy of the researchers)
Motion Design, August 2022

Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2022

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