Capsule gel robot driven by self-propelled oil droplet

Abstract

In this paper, we report a capsule gel robot that has a novel motion ability. The robot is produced by wrapping a chemical reaction system in a gel membrane and demonstrates a rotary motion by moving the center of gravity. We employed an oil-water system wrapped in a capsule where an oil droplet moves autonomously in water phase. We introduced an alginate gelation technique to make spherical hollow gels, in order to fabricate a membrane of capsule gel robot. The produced capsule gel robot showed a rotary motion in water.