Manipulating the Moving Trajectory of Insect-Scale Piezoelectric Soft Robots by Frequency

Abstract

This paper reports the control and manipulation of the moving trajectories of insect-scale soft robots by the applied driving electrical voltage frequency utilizing the asymmetric structural design of the actuating mechanism. Three distinctive advancements have been achieved: (1) a simple asymmetric structural design to create uneven responses on the legs of artificial insects to realize motion controls; (2) the capability of moving forward, leftward and rightward by adjusting the applied driving frequency; and (3) a demonstration of recording the ethanol concentration map around an area in real time by carrying a gas sensor on top of the robot on a controlled path bypassing the existing obstacles. As such, this work can advance the state-of-art technologies on wirelessly controlled, unmanned robots for various potential applications.