A Fluidic Adder Circuit Based on a Microfluidic System

Abstract

Automation based on pneumatic soft actuators (PSAs) offers extensive benefits for operation in strong magnetic fields, at ultrahigh electric potentials and in underwater environments. However, due to the lack of automated pneumatic control systems, most of the PSAs require external electronic controls, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), pumps, and solenoid valves. Recently, researchers have investigated the use of microfluidic logic gates as a promising alternative for the control of submillimeter-scale fluidic components. In this letter, we demonstrate the use of microfluidic logic gates for addition operations. Based on functionally integrated fluidic components with local and global physical characteristics, we examine a fundamental class of the basic NOT gate. In addition, an adder application is described in this letter. We also introduce a calculation signal into a flip latch that is then connected to a microfluidic decoder. The system can avoid the need for cumbersome and fragile external electronic controllers.