6.8 Biomorphic Motion
139
Fig. 6.31 (a) Simulated walker made of five sequentially actuated squares with the nematic pattern
shown on the left, which turns into conical “legs” when heated (Zakharov and Pismen, 2016). (b)
Crawling “caterpillar” (Rogóż et al, 2016)
as in experiments causing a strip of gels to advance by repeatedly passing a light
beam (Kuksenok and Balazs, 2013). Van Oosten et al (2009) constructed artificial
cilia in which the driving deformation is caused by isomerization under ultraviolet
light, as shown in Fig. 6.30a. The same mechanism works to drive artificial flagellar
swimmers (Fig. 6.30b). Polarized beams can carve complex forms into the films on
a microscopic scale, as exemplified in Fig. 6.30c.
Zakharov and Pismen (2016) modeled a walker built of units with circular nematic
alignment and a unit-charge defect in the center, as suggested by Ware et al (2015).
Each unit forms a conical leg when heated and moves by lifting them sequentially one
by one (Fig. 6.31a). Independently, Rogóż et al (2016) built a “caterpillar”, stepping
in a similar way when scanned along its body by the laser beam (Fig. 6.31b).
Palagi et al (2016) modeled and fashioned a millimeter-sized nemato-elastic
“worm” crawling peristaltically when actuated by a dynamic light field that enforces
a wave of transition from the isotropic to the ordered state and back (Fig. 6.32a).
This device can swim as well. A versatile simulated swimmer shown in Fig. 6.32b
is a twisted yarn comprising interwoven actuated and passive strands. When the
nematically ordered strain shortens, a straight-line yarn turns into a helix; it can
acquire a variety of shapes when only a fraction of its length is actuated, as in the
Fig. 6.32 (a) Peristaltic locomotion in the direction shown by the arrow of a nemato-elastic “worm”
(Palagi et al, 2016). (b) Reshaping of a Janus filament. The illuminated segment in the lower panel
is marked by dots (Zakharov et al, 2016).
139
Fig. 6.31 (a) Simulated walker made of five sequentially actuated squares with the nematic pattern
shown on the left, which turns into conical “legs” when heated (Zakharov and Pismen, 2016). (b)
Crawling “caterpillar” (Rogóż et al, 2016)
as in experiments causing a strip of gels to advance by repeatedly passing a light
beam (Kuksenok and Balazs, 2013). Van Oosten et al (2009) constructed artificial
cilia in which the driving deformation is caused by isomerization under ultraviolet
light, as shown in Fig. 6.30a. The same mechanism works to drive artificial flagellar
swimmers (Fig. 6.30b). Polarized beams can carve complex forms into the films on
a microscopic scale, as exemplified in Fig. 6.30c.
Zakharov and Pismen (2016) modeled a walker built of units with circular nematic
alignment and a unit-charge defect in the center, as suggested by Ware et al (2015).
Each unit forms a conical leg when heated and moves by lifting them sequentially one
by one (Fig. 6.31a). Independently, Rogóż et al (2016) built a “caterpillar”, stepping
in a similar way when scanned along its body by the laser beam (Fig. 6.31b).
Palagi et al (2016) modeled and fashioned a millimeter-sized nemato-elastic
“worm” crawling peristaltically when actuated by a dynamic light field that enforces
a wave of transition from the isotropic to the ordered state and back (Fig. 6.32a).
This device can swim as well. A versatile simulated swimmer shown in Fig. 6.32b
is a twisted yarn comprising interwoven actuated and passive strands. When the
nematically ordered strain shortens, a straight-line yarn turns into a helix; it can
acquire a variety of shapes when only a fraction of its length is actuated, as in the
Fig. 6.32 (a) Peristaltic locomotion in the direction shown by the arrow of a nemato-elastic “worm”
(Palagi et al, 2016). (b) Reshaping of a Janus filament. The illuminated segment in the lower panel
is marked by dots (Zakharov et al, 2016).