Abstract
Microactuators are the most distinctive and challenging microdevices among micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) relative to microsensors or electronic circuits. Soft and flexible microactuators have been achieved by introducing polymers as structural materials in addition to conventional materials. Expanding the application of MEMS to the biomedical field requires particular features, such as softness and small devices. It is important to address small and fragile biological objects while satisfying the demand for minimally invasive medicine. Both MEMS and biomedical applications require three-dimensional microstructures for higher-order functions. In general, microactuators are limited to simple motions such as bending. Our group has developed an openable artificial small intestinal tract system. An array of pneumatic balloon actuators (PBAs) transforms a flat structure into a tube structure representing the small intestine. Coordination of the bending motions of the PBAs enables the formation of a three-dimensional tube structure. Each PBA is 400 μm × 1800 μm × 100 μm. The diameter of the tube structure is 1 mm. Additional higher-order functions of the artificial small intestine, such as peristaltic motion, are currently of interest for us. This paper describes the morphological transformation of a soft microstructure and further potential possibilities of coordinated motions of soft microactuators.
Highlights
This paper describes a morphological transformation of the microstructure by soft pneumatic microactuators
This paper describes the morphological transformation of a soft microstructure and further potential possibilities of coordinated motions of soft microactuators
The openable artificial intestine exploits the cooperative motions of an array of pneumatic balloon actuators (PBAs) to transform the initial flat structure into a tube structure
Summary
This paper describes a morphological transformation of the microstructure by soft pneumatic microactuators. Most microactuators provide simple motions in applications of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS). Thermal and piezoelectric principles are applied to generate the strain and actuation of bimorph structures[3,4]. In a ciliary motion system using a bimorph thermal microactuator, two sets of cantilever-type actuators are arranged opposing each other. A ciliary motion system employing a thermal bimorph actuator was developed as a two-dimensional conveyance system based on the concept of distributed micromotion systems[11]. These works succeeded in rendering complicated or higher-order motion through coordination of the simple motions of microactuators.
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