BIO-INSPIRED BOTS: Magnetic mushy actuators developed by IIT-Madras researchers
Imagine a medical instrument that opens like a flower to softly carry tissue or a mushy ribbon that curls and uncurls in a managed, rhythmic movement, guided by forces you can not see. These should not zany visions from science fiction, however actual prototypes rising from a lab at IIT-Madras.
A latest paper, titled Nature-inspired shape-shifting mushy magnetic supplies: Inspiration, fabrication, mechanism, and software, by Dharmi Chand and Sivakumar MS, unveiled a brand new class of soppy, magnetically responsive supplies that may bend, twist and grip, all with out motors, wires or onboard electronics. This makes them promising for delicate functions like biomedical gadgets and minimally invasive instruments.
Mimicking nature
The area of soppy robotics attracts closely from nature. Creatures like jellyfish and sea slugs adapt their form and movement in response to their setting. Engineers are replicating such skills utilizing good supplies that deform beneath mild, warmth, humidity or magnetic fields. Among these, magnetic actuation stands out for its velocity, reversibility and exact management with out bodily contact.
The IIT-Madras workforce created magnetic mushy actuators utilizing versatile polymers embedded with magnetic particles.
Magnetic movement
Traditionally, mushy robots have used onerous magnetic particles, which retain their magnetisation. However, this additionally creates issues, comparable to hysteresis and non-linear response to altering fields.
The IIT-Madras workforce used mushy magnetic particles that magnetise solely when the sphere is lively and return to a impartial state when eliminated. This ends in repeatable, reversible form adjustments, with cleaner management.
The fabrication of the mushy magnetic actuator begins with infusing silicone-based actuators with carbonyl iron particles. These are moulded into particular shapes and uncovered to magnetic fields to align the particles alongside the sphere strains. Under a microscope, the researchers noticed how the particles fashioned lengthy chains inside the fabric, storing the flexibility to bend when re-exposed to a magnetic area.
But as an alternative of relying solely on this moulding course of, the workforce devised a wiser methodology.
They replicated the inner magnetic construction by embedding the mushy materials with skinny iron rods of excessive length-to-width ratios. These rods act like inside muscle tissue, bending the polymer when uncovered to a magnetic area. By fastidiously controlling the position and angle, the workforce may programme advanced, swish formations with out utilizing electronics.
“Our advanced work in this direction — stamp-based printing — enables scalable fabrication of micron to submicron robots, while our UV-based shape programming advances the creation of complex, functional geometries. Together, these developments bring us closer to real-world deployment, where soft robots can be designed and manufactured efficiently, even outside high-tech labs,” says Chand.
The researchers constructed two demonstrator gadgets: a gripper and a crawler.
Flower-like gripper
Inspired by blooming flower petals, the gripper options six versatile arms. Iron rods have been embedded inside these arms in a layered fabrication course of, sandwiching them in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). When positioned in a magnetic area, the arms bend inward or outward, permitting the gripper to understand and launch objects of various shapes and supplies, together with a 3D-printed ball, a cylinder and mushy clay.
Because magnetic fields could be adjusted externally, the grip energy and timing could be finely tuned. This makes the system superb for duties involving delicate manipulation, particularly in constrained or sterile environments, comparable to surgical procedure or laboratory automation.
Curling crawler
The second prototype is a mushy strip that strikes with a crawling movement when subjected to an oscillating magnetic area. Unlike the gripper, this system makes use of magnetic rods at each ends.
When the sphere adjustments rhythmically, the ends contract and launch in a coordinated style, propelling the system ahead at 2.5 mm per second.
What units this crawler aside is its simplicity and programmability. The researchers achieved directional motion utilizing simply two embedded magnetic rods positioned at strategic factors, mimicking the contraction and extension cycles seen in organic movement. By tuning the position of those rods, the workforce can modify how the crawler bends and wherein route it travels.
Looking forward
“Soft robotics holds the key to a new generation of machines that are safe, adaptive and capable of navigating environments where traditional robots fail. From targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery to environmental sensing, wearable devices and even space exploration, their applications are vast,” says Chand.
Moreover, the brand new fabrication strategy affords a scalable various to advanced moulding, probably enabling the manufacturing of customised, application-specific mushy robots. As the researchers level out, that is just the start. Future iterations may incorporate AI-guided actuation, real-time area management and miniaturisation to sort out ever extra advanced duties.
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Published on August 11, 2025