en.Wedoany.com Reported - A research team at the University of Bristol has developed a micropump based on liquid metal, offering a lightweight, portable, and adaptable power solution for soft robotics and wearable devices.
The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications. The pump uses liquid metal as the driving medium, powered by low-voltage electricity to convert electrical energy into fluid motion, potentially replacing the bulky compressors or rigid pumps relied upon in traditional soft robotic systems. The team created three prototypes to demonstrate its applications, including robotic butterfly wings, a color-changing wristband, and a tactile fingertip pouch that simulates natural touch through compression and is connected to an adjustable wrist strap.
Weighing just 0.2 grams and operating at a voltage below 0.1 volts, this device, named the Liquid Metal Magnetohydrodynamic (LIMA) pump, is considered to have performance potential surpassing existing soft pumps and some commercial pumps used for fluid delivery and hydraulics. Its working principle involves passing an electric current through a liquid metal droplet in a magnetic field to generate Lorentz force, driving the droplet back and forth and thereby pushing the surrounding fluid to create a pumping effect. Lead author Saba Firouznia, an associate researcher at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, stated that the achievement overcomes the rigid and bulky obstacles of traditional soft robotic systems, offering a miniature, portable alternative. He believes the pump is not only suitable for existing fields such as disease diagnosis lab-on-a-chip devices but also for new applications like micropumps in robotic clothing and micro-actuators for environmental sampling.
In addition to transmitting hydraulic energy, the pump can also transmit chemical energy and information signals through soft fluidic networks, providing a new technical pathway for developing more portable, autonomous, and versatile soft robotic systems.
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