RQC Seminar

88th RQC Seminar

• 講演者

  Prof. Igor Aronson
  ( College of Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, USA )

• 日程

  October 26th, 2023 16:00-17:00

• 開催場所

  ハイブリッド（ZOOM・ 和光事業所　研究本館3階 セミナー室(345-347) C01）

• 講演タイトル

  Acoustically Communicating Active Smarms

• お問合せ

  rqc_info[at]ml.riken.jp

講演概要
Microrobotic swarms play a crucial role in pollutant foraging threat detection, and tissue embolization. In nature, animals like bats and whales use acoustic signals to communicate and enhance their evolutionary competitiveness. This feature is mostly lacking in simple microrobots, while it could significantly enhance their functionality and efficiency. We demonstrate that information exchange by acoustic waves between the microrobots creates a slew of multifunctional structures. In our realization, each unit is equipped with an acoustic emitter and a detector. The swarmers respond to the resulting acoustic field by adjusting their emission frequency and migrating toward the strongest signal. We find self-organized structures with different morphology, including snake-like self-propelled entities, localized aggregates, and spinning vortices. The structures exhibit emergent functionalities, such as targeted aggregation and dispersal upon a signal, boundary guidance, shape memory, and self-regeneration after strong distortion that allows them to penetrate through narrow constrictions. Our results provide insights into the design principles of communicating microrobotic swarms capable of performing complex tasks and responding to external controls.