Light-driven color-changing soft robot and bionic insect

Abstract

The invention provides a light-driven color-changing soft robot and a bionic insect. The robot is composed of a tungsten-doped vanadium dioxide layer, an oxide (fluoride) layer, an MXene layer and a paraffin layer. Through the photothermal effect, the temperature of the soft robot is increased, and color changing and driving are achieved. Under the irradiation of exciting light, when the temperature of the soft robot exceeds the phase transition temperature of vanadium dioxide, the refractive index of the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide film is changed, so that the color (infrared temperature) of the color-changing layer is changed. At the moment, due to the fact that the temperature of the soft robot rises, the paraffin layer generates thermal expansion, the MXene layer does not generate thermal expansion, and therefore the robot deforms. The robot can actively change the color (infrared temperature) according to the environment, works in a disguise state, and has wide application prospects in the military field.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of robotics, and in particular to a light-driven color-changing soft robot and a bionic insect. Background Art

[0002] An actuator is a device that converts external energy (such as electrical energy, air pressure, hydraulic pressure, or thermal energy) into mechanical motion or force. It is widely used in robots to perform physical actions such as pushing, rotating, or adjusting positions. In nature, organisms often use camouflage techniques to avoid being captured by predators. For example, the wings of the dead leaf butterfly resemble withered leaves to escape predation by birds. Chameleons can actively adjust their body color and camouflage themselves by changing the structure of their skin to adapt to the color of the environment. In modern warfare, robots are gradually replacing humans to perform dangerous tasks and rescue missions. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop the next generation of robots with active camouflage capabilities to improve their survivability. It is crucial to create camouflage technology compatible with visible and infrared bands and integrate it with robotics.

[0003] Currently, there is no robot that can generate color (infrared temperature) changes while being driven. In view of this, the present application provides a light-driven color-changing soft robot to meet the requirements of generating movement and color (infrared temperature) changes simultaneously under light drive, so as to expand the application of robots in information encryption, environmental monitoring and other aspects. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve the problems existing in the background technology, the present application provides a light-driven color-changing soft robot and a bionic insect.

[0005] In the first aspect, a light-driven color-changing soft robot is provided, comprising a paraffin layer, a MXene layer, and a tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer arranged in sequence from bottom to top; wherein: the MXene layer and the paraffin layer are connected and composited to form an actuator; the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer is used to produce thermochromism caused by phase change when the temperature of the MXene surface increases. The three layers of different materials are composited together, and when subjected to external light and heat stimulation, the color and shape can be changed simultaneously.

[0006] In some implementations of the first aspect, a dielectric layer is further disposed between the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer and the MXene layer, and the dielectric layer includes a calcium fluoride material or a silicon dioxide material.

[0007] In some implementations of the first aspect, the thickness of the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer is any one of the following: 40, 60, 80, 100 or 120 nm.

[0008] In some implementations of the first aspect, when the material of the dielectric layer is silicon dioxide, the thickness of the dielectric layer material is any one of the following: 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 or 250 nm; when the material of the dielectric layer is calcium fluoride, the thickness is 1.2 μm.

[0009] By setting a dielectric layer and combining tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layers of different thicknesses with dielectric layers of different thicknesses, more colorful colors can be obtained before and after the phase change of the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film, including: blue (400-460nm), purple (380-450nm), purple-gray (320-400nm), yellow (570-600nm), green (492-577nm), or gold (570-600nm), etc.; the colorful colors can allow the color-changing soft robot to hide under different color backgrounds.

[0010] In some implementations of the first aspect, when the dielectric layer is calcium fluoride, the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer and the dielectric layer are also used to generate an infrared temperature close to the surrounding environment when the ambient temperature is 40-45° C. With an infrared temperature close to the surrounding environment, the color of the color-changing soft robot in the infrared camera is close to the color of the surrounding environment and is difficult to distinguish.

[0011] In some implementations of the first aspect, the shape of the MXene layer is obtained by laser cutting, and the shapes of the paraffin layer and the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer correspond to the MXene layer; wherein the femtosecond laser power is 8 mW, the processing rate is 8000 μm / s, and the spot size is 30 μm.

[0012] In some implementations of the first aspect, the MXene layer and the paraffin layer are connected and composited to form an actuator, including: the MXene layer is used to convert light energy into heat energy under light drive without generating thermal deformation; the paraffin layer is used to generate thermal deformation after the MXene layer converts light energy into heat energy; so that the MXene layer and the paraffin layer generate directional movement toward the MXene layer or the paraffin layer to form an actuator. If the shape of the actuator is set to a cantilever beam, when there is repeated stimulation by external excitation light, the cantilever beam-shaped actuator can crawl a certain distance and realize color change during the crawling process.

[0013] In some implementations of the first aspect, the actuator has a power density of 110 mW / cm 2 The maximum light driven by 84m -1 The influence of the composite tungsten-doped vanadium oxide film layer and dielectric layer on the curvature change of the actuator is almost negligible.

[0014] In some implementations of the first aspect, the light-driven color-changing soft robot is used to produce a color change from purple-gray to blue under light drive. The combination of tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layers of different thicknesses and dielectric layers of different thicknesses can achieve different color changes, including: gold to yellow, yellow to blue, green to purple-brown, etc.; when the external excitation light power density is 110mW / cm 2 The color change time only takes 2s.

[0015] In a second aspect, a bionic insect is provided, including a light-driven color-changing soft robot as in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof; the light-driven color-changing soft robot is in the shape of a butterfly. 2 When stimulated by external light, the color of the bionic insect changes synchronously with the shape of its wings. The movement of the wings is similar to the flapping of butterfly wings, and the color of the bionic insect gradually becomes consistent with the environment. One flapping of the wings up and down is a cycle, and the bionic insect can complete a cycle of transformation within 6 seconds.

[0016] In a third aspect, a bionic insect is provided, including a light-driven color-changing soft robot as in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof; the light-driven color-changing soft robot is in the shape of a butterfly. 2 When stimulated by external light, the infrared temperature of the bionic insect rises. At the same time, the shape of the butterfly's wings changes, and the changes in the wings are similar to the flapping of the butterfly's wings. The infrared temperature of the bionic insect is within the range of 40-45°C, and the temperature difference with the infrared temperature of the environment is less than or equal to 0.2°C. At this time, the color of the bionic insect under the infrared camera is basically the same as the color of the surrounding environment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a light-driven color-changing soft robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 2 It is a cantilever beam-shaped light-driven color-changing soft robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 3 It is a bionic insect provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 4 It is a bionic insect provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] An actuator is a device that converts external energy (such as electrical energy, air pressure, hydraulic pressure, or thermal energy) into mechanical motion or force. It is widely used in robots to perform physical actions such as pushing, rotating, or adjusting positions. In nature, organisms often use camouflage techniques to avoid being captured by predators. For example, the wings of the dead leaf butterfly resemble withered leaves to escape predation by birds. Chameleons can actively adjust their body color and camouflage themselves by changing the structure of their skin to adapt to the color of the environment. In modern warfare, robots are gradually replacing humans to perform dangerous tasks and rescue missions. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop the next generation of robots with active camouflage capabilities to improve their survivability. It is crucial to create camouflage technology compatible with visible and infrared bands and integrate it with robotics.

[0022] Currently, there is no robot that can generate color (infrared temperature) changes while being driven. In view of this, the present application provides a light-driven color-changing soft robot to meet the requirements of generating movement and color (infrared temperature) changes simultaneously under light drive, so as to expand the application of robots in information encryption, environmental monitoring and other aspects.

[0023] In order to solve the problems existing in the background technology, the present application provides a light-driven color-changing soft robot and a bionic insect.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a light-driven color-changing soft robot provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the robot includes a tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer 101, a MXene layer 103 and a paraffin layer 104; wherein: the MXene layer 103 and the paraffin layer 104 are connected and composited to form an actuator; the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer 101 is used to produce thermochromism caused by phase change when the temperature of the surface of the MXene layer 103 increases. When three layers of different materials are composited together, when subjected to external light and heat stimulation, the color and shape can be changed simultaneously.

[0025] A dielectric layer 102 is disposed between the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer 101 and the MXene layer 103 , and the dielectric layer 102 includes a calcium fluoride material or a silicon dioxide material.

[0026] The thickness of the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer 101 is any one of the following: 40, 60, 80, 100 or 120 nm.

[0027] When the material of the dielectric layer 102 is silicon dioxide, the thickness of the dielectric layer 102 is any one of the following: 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 or 250 nm; when the material of the dielectric layer 102 is calcium fluoride, the thickness is 1.2 μm.

[0028] By setting a dielectric layer 102 and combining tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layers 101 of different thicknesses with dielectric layers 102 of different thicknesses, more colorful colors can be obtained before and after the phase change of the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer 101; including: blue (400-460nm), purple (380-450nm), purple-gray (320-400nm), yellow (570-600nm), green (492-577nm), or gold (570-600nm), etc.; the colorful colors can allow the color-changing soft robot to hide under different color backgrounds.

[0029] When the dielectric layer 102 is calcium fluoride, the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer 101 and the dielectric layer 102 are also used to generate an infrared temperature close to the surrounding environment when the ambient temperature is 40-45°C; having an infrared temperature close to the surrounding environment makes the color of the color-changing soft robot in the infrared camera close to the color of the surrounding environment, making it difficult to distinguish.

[0030] The shape of the MXene layer 103 is obtained by laser cutting, and the shapes of the paraffin layer 104 and the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer 101 correspond to the MXene layer 103; wherein the femtosecond laser power is 8 mW, the processing rate is 8000 μm / s, and the spot size is 30 μm.

[0031] The MXene layer 103 and the paraffin layer 104 are connected and composited to form an actuator, including: the MXene layer 103 is used to convert light energy into heat energy under light drive without generating thermal deformation; the paraffin layer 104 is used to generate thermal deformation after the MXene layer 103 converts light energy into heat energy; so that the MXene layer 103 and the paraffin layer 104 generate directional movement toward the MXene layer 103 or the paraffin layer 104 to form an actuator.

[0032] Figure 2 A cantilever beam-shaped light-driven color-changing soft robot is provided in an embodiment of the present application. When stimulated repeatedly by external excitation light, the cantilever beam-shaped actuator can crawl a certain distance and realize color change during the crawling process.

[0033] The actuator is used to generate 84m -1 The influence of the composite tungsten-doped vanadium oxide film layer and dielectric layer on the curvature change of the actuator is almost negligible.

[0034] The light-driven color-changing soft robot is used to produce color changes from purple-gray to blue under light drive. The combination of tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layers of different thicknesses and dielectric layers of different thicknesses can achieve different color changes, including: gold changes to yellow, yellow changes to blue, green changes to purple-brown, etc. When the external excitation light power density is 110mW / cm2 The color switching time is only 2s.

[0035] Figure 3 Provided is a bionic insect, wherein the light-driven color-changing soft robot is in the shape of a butterfly. When subjected to light power density of 110 mW / cm 2 When stimulated by external light, the color of the bionic insect changes synchronously with the shape of its wings. The changes in the wings are similar to the flapping of butterfly wings, and the color of the bionic insect gradually becomes consistent with the environment. One flapping of the wings up and down is a cycle, and the bionic insect can complete a cycle of transformation within 6 seconds.

[0036] Figure 4 The embodiment of the present application provides a bionic insect, wherein the light-driven color-changing soft robot is in the shape of a butterfly. 2 When stimulated by external light, the infrared temperature of the bionic insect rises. At the same time, the shape of the butterfly's wings changes, and the changes in the wings are similar to the flapping of the butterfly's wings. The infrared temperature of the bionic insect is within the range of 40-45°C, and the temperature difference with the infrared temperature of the environment is less than or equal to 0.2°C. At this time, the color of the bionic insect under the infrared camera is basically the same as the color of the surrounding environment.

[0037] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0038] 1. The robot of the present application is a flexible camouflage robot. It integrates camouflage, deformation and motion functions, and can drag objects while camouflaging. It has broad application prospects in the fields of soft robots, military camouflage, etc.

[0039] 2. The robot of the present application realizes wireless power supply for camouflage, deformation and movement through external light without the need for external circuits.

[0040] 3. The robot of the present application is mainly made of inorganic materials, which have a very long working life. The thickness has been greatly reduced, so it has a higher responsiveness and a fast response speed.

[0041] 4. The robot described in this application can simulate a variety of biological movement patterns according to its own shape and has high environmental adaptability.

[0042] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A light-driven color-changing soft robot, characterized in that: It includes a paraffin layer, a MXene layer and a tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer arranged in sequence from bottom to top, wherein: The MXene layer and the paraffin layer are connected and composited to form an actuator; The tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer is used to generate thermochromism caused by phase change when the temperature of the surface of the MXene layer increases.

2. The light-driven color-changing soft robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: A dielectric layer is further disposed between the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer and the MXene layer, and the dielectric layer includes a calcium fluoride material or a silicon dioxide material.

3. The light-driven color-changing soft robot according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that: The thickness of the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer is any one of the following: 40, 60, 80, 100 or 120 nm.

4. The light-driven color-changing soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: When the material of the dielectric layer is silicon dioxide, the thickness of the dielectric layer material is any one of the following: 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 or 250 nm; or When the dielectric layer material is calcium fluoride, the thickness is 1.2 μm.

5. The light-driven color-changing soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: When the dielectric layer is calcium fluoride, the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer and the dielectric layer are also used to adjust the infrared radiation temperature of the light-driven color-changing soft robot when the ambient temperature is 40-45°C, so that the infrared radiation temperature difference between the light-driven color-changing soft robot and the surrounding environment is less than or equal to 0.2°C.

6. The light-driven color-changing soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The MXene layer is obtained by laser cutting, and the shapes of the paraffin layer and the tungsten-doped vanadium oxide thin film layer correspond to those of the MXene layer.

7. The light-driven color-changing soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The MXene layer and the paraffin layer are connected and composited to form an actuator, comprising: The MXene layer is used to convert the light energy into heat energy under light drive without generating thermal deformation; The paraffin layer is used to generate thermal deformation after the MXene layer converts the light energy into thermal energy; The MXene layer and the paraffin layer are caused to produce a directional movement toward the MXene layer or the paraffin layer to form the actuator.

8. The light-driven color-changing soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The actuator is used to generate 84m -1 The curvature changes.

9. The light-driven color-changing soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The light-driven color-changing soft robot is used to produce a color change from gray to blue under light driving.

10. A bionic insect, characterized in that: It comprises the light-driven color-changing soft robot as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the light-driven color-changing soft robot is in the shape of a butterfly.

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