Self-Coordinated Materials Inspired by Animal Movement

Innovation: Academia

UMass Amherst

2021

Image: Leman / Unsplash / CC BY SA - Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike

Modify Size/Shape/Mass/Volume

Many living systems alter their physical properties, such as size, shape, mass, or volume. These modifications occur in response to the living system’s needs and/or changing environmental conditions. For example, they may do this to move more efficiently, escape predators, recover from damage, or for many other reasons. These modifications require appropriate response rates and levels. Modifying any of these properties requires materials to enable such changes, cues to make the changes, and mechanisms to control them. An example is the porcupine fish, which protects itself from predators by taking sips of water or air to inflate its body and to erect spines embedded in its skin.

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Sense Light (Visible Spectrum) From the Environment

Living systems constantly receive signals from their environment that help them survive. Light (in the visible spectrum) can come from other living systems (such as fireflies) or from non-living sources (such as the sun). Survival often depends on sensing and responding to challenges like low light conditions or light that has been altered in some way. Because basic survival is at stake, living systems must excel at meeting those challenges. A well-known phenomenon is how water bends light. A stork trying to catch a fish underwater can compensate for this bending effect so that when it strikes at the fish, it has a good chance of catching it.

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Sense Temperature Cues From the Environment

Some living systems use their ability to perceive temperature to find prey or avoid predators, or as a way to gain information about their environment, such as whether they are near a warm or cold place. Temperature gradients can be subtle and modulate as they travel through water, air, or solids. Living organisms must therefore have a variety of thermal sensors appropriate to a given medium (liquid, gas, solid). Some even have a way to “visualize” a signal’s source. For example, the rattlesnake has heat sensors with thousands of nerve endings located in pit-shaped holes on each side of its face. The sensitivity of the pits overlaps, giving the snake a bifocal image of the heat’s source.

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Smart material from UMass Amherst is made of hydrogel nanocomposite disks that enable it to accurately respond to its environment.

Benefits

Dynamic
Responsive
Precise

Applications

Robotics
Medical implants
Electronics

UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed

Goal 9: Industry Innovation & Infrastructure

The Challenge

Smart materials respond dynamically to various environmental stimuli. Although the materials are programmed t0 react to the stimuli, coordinating the responses of nanostructures within the material remains a challenge that results in inconsistencies and reduced accuracy.

Innovation Details

The smart material is made of an array of oscillators that move in unison with one another to respond to changes in light and temperature. It contains hydrogel nanocomposite disks made up of gels and nanoparticles of gold that are sensitive to changes in light and temperature. The thermal interactions between the particles induce complex oscillatory and rotational motions that allow the material to exhibit a collective behavior.

Biomimicry Story

Many animals and bacteria create movement with a mechanism that involves an oscillator. The oscillator, or network of oscillators, produces a repetitive motion such as wriggling a tail or flapping a wing.

See Related Strategy

Biological Strategy

Flagella Aid Locomotion

Bacteria

The flagella of bacteria propel using a wheel and axle mechanism.

black and white photo of an ostrich running in tanzania tarangire National Park

Biological Strategy

Gait Increases Speed, Efficiency

Ostrich

The legs of the ostrich increase maneuverability while decreasing torque loads to their joints due to biomechanical efficiency.

References

Journal article

Coupled oscillation and spinning of photothermal particles in Marangoni optical traps

PNAS

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