13毫克微型机器人用新型低功耗形状记忆合金驱动器，水下续航更高效。
Progress Towards Submersible Microrobots: A Novel 13-mg Low-Power SMA-Based Actuator for Underwater Propulsion
- 采用柔性封装结构被动控制散热，提升水中热效率。
- 1赫兹下水下平均功耗仅150毫瓦，远低于同类设备的900毫瓦。
- 可直接由机载电池供电，适合开发自主水下微型机器人。
本文介绍一种基于形状记忆合金（SMA）丝的新式13毫克低功耗微致动器，专为水下应用设计。当前微泳器如FRISHBot、WaterStrider、VLEIBot、VLEIBot+和VLEIBot++，其质量在30至810毫克之间，前四个依赖外部电源，最后一个为完全自主系统。这些平台此前使用干态SMA微致动器，但因水下散热过快，效率显著下降：例如，驱动VLEIBot++的致动器在空气中平均功耗约40毫瓦（1赫兹），而在水中则高达900毫瓦。本研究提出的致动器在1赫兹下于空气与水中平均功耗均为约150毫瓦，且可通过自定义印刷电路板（PCB）上的简单电子元件实现机载电池直接驱动。该突破得益于集成软结构对SMA丝的封装，被动调控热传导速率。实验结果初步但有力地证明，该驱动方式有望实现全自主可控的水下微型泳器。后续将优化现有VLEIBot++平台，并引入新型仿生推进机制。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
We introduce a new low-power 13-mg microactuator driven by shape-memory alloy (SMA) wires for underwater operation. The development of this device was motivated by the recent creation of microswimmers such as the FRISHBot, WaterStrider, VLEIBot, VLEIBot+, and VLEIBot++. The first four of these robots, ranging from 30 to 90 mg, function tethered to an electrical power supply while the last platform is an 810-mg fully autonomous system. These five robots are driven by dry SMA-based microactuators first developed for microrobotic crawlers such as the SMALLBug and SMARTI. As shown in this abstract, dry SMA-based actuators do not operate efficiently under water due to high heat-transfer rates in this medium; for example, the actuators that drive the VLEIBot++ require about 40 mW of average power at 1 Hz in dry air while requiring about 900 mW of average power at 1 Hz in water. In contrast, the microactuator presented in this abstract consumes about 150 mW of average power at 1 Hz in both dry air and water; additionally, it can be excited directly using an onboard battery through simple power electronics implemented on a custom-built printed circuit board (PCB). This technological breakthrough was enabled by the integration of a soft structure that encapsulates the SMA wires that drive the actuator in order to passively control the rates of heat transfer. The results presented here represent preliminary, yet compelling, experimental evidence that the proposed actuation approach will enable the development of fully autonomous and controllable submersible microswimmers. To accomplish this objective, we will evolve the current version of the VLEIBot++ and introduce new bioinspired underwater propulsion mechanisms.
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