. 24/7 Space News .
ROBO SPACE
Drexel research helps bacteria-powered microrobots plot a course
by Staff Writers
Philadelphia PA (SPX) Mar 21, 2016


Drexel researchers have developed a method for using electric fields to help microscopic bacteria-powered microrobots detect obstacles in their environment and navigate around them to get to their destination. Image courtesy Drexel University. Watch a video on the research here.

The problem with having a microscopic robot propelled by a horde of tail-flailing bacteria is you never know where it's going to end up. The tiny, bio-robots, which amount to a chip coated with a "carpet" of flagellated bacteria, emerged from the primordial ooze of microrobotics research a few years ago as a concept for building microscopic devices and delivering medication at the cellular level.

But as with any robot, the challenge for making them useful is bridging the gap from movement to automation. A team of engineers at Drexel University might have done just that, according to research recently published in IEEE Transactions on Robotics about using electric fields to direct the robots in a fluid environment.

In a follow-up to a 2014 report that presented a way to use the flagellated bacteria Serratia marcescens and an electric field to make a microrobot mobile, MinJun Kim, PhD, a professor in the College of Engineering and director of Drexel's Biological Actuation, Sensing and Transport (BAST) Lab, is now offering a method for making them agile.

"What's a ship without a captain? We know electric fields can be used to push the microrobots in any direction, like a boat carried by the ocean's currents, but in this paper we're exploring how those same fields can be used to help the robot detect obstacles and navigate around them," Kim said.

The key to both motion and navigation for the tiny hybrid robots is S. marcescens bacterium. These rod-shaped swimmers, who are known culprits of urinary tract and respiratory infections in hospitals, naturally possess a negative charge, which means they can be manipulated across an electric field as if they were pixels in an etch-a-sketch.

When a slimy smear of the bacteria is applied to a substrate, in this case a square chip of photosensitive material called SU-8, you get a negatively charged microrobot that can move around in a fluid by riding the waves of an electric field.

The bacteria's whip-like flagella help keep the robot suspended in the fluid environment while also providing a small bit of forward propulsion. The real push comes from two perpendicular electric fields that turn the fluid into an electrified grid. Since the bacteria are negatively charged, the team can manipulate the robots simply by adjusting the strength of the current.

"We have shown that we can manually direct the robots or give it a set of coordinates to get it from point A to point B, but our goal in this research is to enable the microrobots to navigate a course with random impediments blocking its way," Kim said. "This requires a level of automation that has not previously been achieved in hybrid microrobotics research."

Kim's group met this goal by making a control algorithm that enables the tiny robots to effectively use the shape of the electric field they're riding as a way to detect and avoid obstacles - like a surfer reading the waves' break to steer clear of submerged hazards.

By running a series of tests using charged particles, the team came to understand how the electric field changed when it encountered insulator objects.

"The electric field was distorted near the corners of the obstacle," the authors write. "Particles that passed by the first corner of the obstacles also had affected trajectories even though they had a clear space ahead to pass; this is due to the distorted electric field."

They used this deformation in the field as input data for their steering algorithm. So when the robot senses a change in the pattern of the field the algorithm automatically adjusts its path of to dodge the obstacle. In this way, the robots are using electric fields both as a mode of transportation and as a means of navigation.

In addition to the electric field information, the algorithm also uses image-tracking from a microscope-mounted camera to locate the initial starting point of the robot and its ultimate destination.

"With this level of control and input from the environment we can program the microrobot to make a series of value judgments during its journey that affect its path," Kim said.

"If for instance we want the robot to avoid as many obstacles as possible, regardless of the distance traveled. Or we could set it to take the most direct, shortest route to the destination - even if it's through the obstacles. This relative autonomy is an important step for microrobots if we're going to one day put them into a complex system and ask them to perform a task like delivering medication or building a microstructure."

The next step for Kim's lab is to develop a system consisting of multiple bacteria-powered microrobots that is able to perform manipulation of multiple live cells in vitro. Such a system could have several applications, including stem cell manipulation.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Drexel University
All about the robots on Earth and beyond!






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
ROBO SPACE
Less than meets the eye
Rehovot, Israel (SPX) Mar 18, 2016
We do not merely recognize objects - our brain is so good at this task that we can automatically supply the concept of a cup when shown a photo of a curved handle or identify a face from just an ear or nose. Neurobiologists, computer scientists, and robotics engineers are all interested in understanding how such recognition works - in both human and computer vision systems. New research by ... read more


ROBO SPACE
Permanent Lunar Colony Possible in 10 Years

China to use data relay satellite to explore dark side of moon

NASA May Return to Moon, But Only After Cutting Off ISS

Lunar love: When science meets artistry

ROBO SPACE
Europe's New Mars Mission Bringing NASA Radios Along

Close comet flyby threw Mars' magnetic field into chaos

ExoMars 2016 - The heat is on

Rocket blasts off on Russia-Europe mission seeking life on Mars

ROBO SPACE
Broomstick flying or red-light ping-pong? Gadgets at German fair

Accelerating discovery with new tools for next generation social science

Mining Everyday Technologies to Anticipate Possibilities

Belgium Plans to Create Own National Space Agency

ROBO SPACE
China's ambition after space station

Sky is the limit for China's national strategy

Aim Higher: China Plans to Send Rover to Mars in 2020

China's lunar probe sets record for longest stay

ROBO SPACE
Three new crew, including US grandpa, join space station

Space station astronauts ham it up to inspire student scientists

Roscosmos-NASA Contract on US Astronauts Delivery to ISS on Restructuring

NASA station leads way for improved measurements of Earth orientation, shape

ROBO SPACE
ISRO launches PSLV C32, India's sixth navigation satellite

Assembly of Russia's Soyuz Rocket With Earth-Sensing Satellite Completed

Ariane 5 launch contributes to Ariane 6 development

SpaceX launches SES-9 satellite to GEO; but booster landing fails

ROBO SPACE
NASA's K2 mission: Kepler second chance to shine

Star eruptions create and scatter elements with Earth-like composition

Astronomers discover two new 'hot Jupiter' exoplanets

Sharpest view ever of dusty disc around aging star

ROBO SPACE
Virtual reality girds for test in marketplace

British mathematician solves Fermat's Last Theorem

The updated crystalline sponge method

Unique optical trapping system offers way to launch high-power laser light









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.