Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 119, Issue 33, Pages -Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201776119
Keywords
synthetic growth; photopolymerization; soft robotics; extrusion; biomimetics
Categories
Funding
- 3M Graduate Fellowship
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
- NSF [EFMA-1830950]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The tip growth of natural organisms has inspired the development of synthetic systems, leading to the creation of a growing soft robot using the extrusion by self-lubricated interface photopolymerization (E-SLIP) method. This robot can exhibit growth at high speeds and lengths, while performing various tasks such as exploration, burrowing, and navigating complex paths.
Many natural organisms, such as fungal hyphae and plant roots, grow at their tips, enabling the generation of complex bodies composed of natural materials as well as dexterous movement and exploration. Tip growth presents an exemplary process by which materials synthesis and actuation are coupled, providing a blueprint for how growth could be realized in a synthetic system. Herein, we identify three underlying principles essential to tip-based growth of biological organisms: a fluid pressure driving force, localized polymerization for generating structure, and fluid-mediated transport of constituent materials. In this work, these evolved features inspire a synthetic materials growth process called extrusion by self-lubricated interface photopolymerization (E-SLIP), which can continuously fabricate solid profiled polymer parts with tunable mechanical properties from liquid precursors. To demonstrate the utility of E-SLIP, we create a tip-growing soft robot, outline its fundamental governing principles, and highlight its capabilities for growth at speeds up to 12 cm/min and lengths up to 1.5 m. This growing soft robot is capable of executing a range of tasks, including exploration, burrowing, and traversing tortuous paths, which highlight the potential for synthetic growth as a platform for on-demand manufacturing of infrastructure, exploration, and sensing in a variety of environments.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available