Nature Communications (Jun 2023)

Pen-drawn Marangoni swimmer

  • Seo Woo Song,
  • Sumin Lee,
  • Jun Kyu Choe,
  • Amos Chungwon Lee,
  • Kyoungseob Shin,
  • Junwon Kang,
  • Gyeongjun Kim,
  • Huiran Yeom,
  • Yeongjae Choi,
  • Sunghoon Kwon,
  • Jiyun Kim

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39186-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Pen-drawing is an intuitive, convenient, and creative fabrication method for delivering emergent and adaptive design to real devices. To demonstrate the application of pen-drawing to robot construction, we developed pen-drawn Marangoni swimmers that perform complex programmed tasks using a simple and accessible manufacturing process. By simply drawing on substrates using ink-based Marangoni fuel, the swimmers demonstrate advanced robotic motions such as polygon and star-shaped trajectories, and navigate through maze. The versatility of pen-drawing allows the integration of the swimmers with time-varying substrates, enabling multi-step motion tasks such as cargo delivery and return to the original place. We believe that our pen-based approach will significantly expand the potential applications of miniaturized swimming robots and provide new opportunities for simple robotic implementations.