{"id":29732,"date":"2018-07-11T10:26:13","date_gmt":"2018-07-11T14:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=29732"},"modified":"2018-07-13T11:51:21","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T15:51:21","slug":"bioinspired-soft-translucent-eel-robot-silent-underwater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/bioinspired-soft-translucent-eel-robot-silent-underwater.htm","title":{"rendered":"Bioinspired: Soft, Translucent Eel Robot Silent Underwater"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like a strangely plump, foot-long, glowing ribbon, a translucent soft robot is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Y4Q16LBXC9c\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">swimming silently through saltwater tanks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in California. The robot is a product of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.google.com\/a\/eng.ucsd.edu\/bioinspired\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucsd.edu\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UC San Diego (UCSD)<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/jacobsschool.ucsd.edu\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jacobs School of Engineering<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis design was inspired by the eel larva, also known as leptocephalus,\u201d UCSD engineering PhD student <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/calebchristianson\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Caleb Christianson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> explains to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EM<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cThese eels are transparent and are able to swim silently through the water.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The robot is 22 cm long, 5 cm tall, and 1.5 mm thick. Instead of using an electric motor to propel itself, the robot moves using water-filled artificial muscles and an electronics board that stays at the surface of the water. \u201cIt has six artificial muscles (based on dielectric elastomer actuators) in it that we activate in a controlled sequence with a microcontroller,\u201d adds Christianson.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most robots deployed in the world&#8217;s oceans today are like tiny submarines, rigid and moved by propellers, relatively noisy for marine creatures. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/robotics.sciencemag.org\/content\/3\/17\/eaat1893\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This technology<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> represents a step away from this kind of intrusive monitoring.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTwo key advantages of soft robotics over traditional, rigid robots are their improved safety and adaptability,\u201d details Christianson. \u201cWhen working around fragile objects or living creatures, soft robots provide a safer alternative because of their inherent compliance. In addition, since they are flexible, they can more easily adapt to changing, uncertain environments.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The research is also unique in its incorporation of the environment into the robot&#8217;s design: the salinity of the water is what helps the robot generate power to move. Cables feed voltage to both the pouches of water inside the robot&#8217;s artificial muscles and the salt water it&#8217;s immersed in. The muscles activate when the robot&#8217;s electronics deliver positive charges inside of the robot and negative charges in the water around it; the muscles bend, causing the robot to swim with an undulating movement.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29735\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29735\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_swimming_motion-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"Soft Eel Robot\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_swimming_motion-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_swimming_motion-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_swimming_motion-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_swimming_motion-940x626.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_swimming_motion.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-29735\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Instead of propellers, our robot uses soft artificial muscles to move like an eel underwater without making any sound. (Credit: University of California, San Diego, https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/multimedia\/pub\/168796.php?from=391968)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe microcontroller sends a signal to high voltage converters, which put out 7.5 kV across each of the muscles, with respect to the outside water which is grounded,\u201d Christianson clarifies. \u201cDespite the high voltage, the actuators work at very low current, which allows them to be used safely. While many other researchers use an opaque conductive material for the electrodes (e.g., carbon grease or carbon nanotubes), we use water, which is conductive enough to charge and discharge the actuators.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Innovation in soft robotics<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other researchers have created robots using similar technology, but always with semi-rigid frames inside to maintain tension to power the robots. This study proves that a much softer robot is possible since the frames are not needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe artificial muscles that we use in this robot are called dielectric elastomer actuators,\u201d states Christianson. \u201cThese are essentially stretchable capacitors, in which two parallel conductive materials sandwich a non-conducting, elastomeric (rubber-like) layer. One way to improve the performance of these actuators is to pre-stretch the dielectric layer, which requires the use of a rigid frame to hold that pre-strain. This imparts some amount of rigidity to the structure. In our design, we use non-prestrained elastomers, which means that the entire structure is soft.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the team is using water and transparent dielectric elastomers, the entire structure is translucent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis allows the robot to have &#8216;passive camouflage,&#8217; which allows it to blend into the environment naturally,\u201d adds Christianson. \u201cIt also enables us to use different dyes in the fluid electrodes, such as the fluorescent dye shown here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29734\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29734\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29734\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_robot_tank-600x337.jpg\" alt=\"Soft Eel Robot\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_robot_tank-600x337.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_robot_tank-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_robot_tank-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_robot_tank-940x527.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bioinspired_robot_tank.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-29734\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Researchers tested the robot in tanks at the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. (Credit: University of California, San Diego, https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/multimedia\/pub\/168797.php?from=391968)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, one future application may involve filling the conductive chambers within the artificial muscles with fluorescent dye for signaling. The fluorescent dye is what causes the glow in some images of the robot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt was recently found that certain eels will fluoresce,\u201d Christianson describes. \u201cWhile the real reason for the fluorescence is up for debate, one purpose may be to help the eels locate each other during full moon spawning events. Since it&#8217;s challenging to use radio waves for communication underwater, an alternative may be to use some sort of visual signaling. In this paper, we&#8217;ve demonstrated that the approach is feasible but the implementation and development is reserved for future work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also coming in the future for the research team will be increasing the robot&#8217;s lifespan, equipping it with sensors, and enabling it to dive deeper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cImprovement of the fabrication approach to increase the lifetime of the robot is reserved for future work, as is further optimization of the artificial muscles (e.g., their geometry) and their actuation sequence based on the natural motion and performance of the eel,\u201d remarks Christianson. \u201cIn this work, we have only tested in aquariums. Development of a robust ballast system for deeper dives is reserved for future work, but may involve the addition of weights or air bladders depending on the desired depth and the relative densities of the materials.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eventually, the researchers anticipate housing a suite of sensors in the robot&#8217;s head\u2014and maybe in different locations on its body.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt seemed to me to be a natural choice since many creatures have sensors (e.g., eyes, ears, nose, etc.) in their head,\u201d states Christianson. \u201cThere is also merit in distributed sensing, which will need to be explored in future work. We have not yet explored which sensors to include, which should be based on the needs of those who are interested in underwater exploration.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, that&#8217;s the hope of Christianson and the research team in a nutshell: an innovative soft robot that can be put to many different monitoring uses in the oceans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Top image: Instead of propellers, our robot uses soft artificial muscles to move like an eel underwater without making any sound. (Credit: University of California, San Diego, https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/multimedia\/pub\/168796.php?from=391968)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A UCSD team has developed a soft, translucent eel robot that moves silently underwater that will someday carry a suite of sensory 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In the future, the fluorescence could be used as a kind of signaling system. 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