Self-organisation of artificial muscles based on the cilia and flagella

基于纤毛和鞭毛的人造肌肉的自组织

• 批准号: 2444829
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2444829
• 关键词: Self; organisation; artificial; muscles; based

This project falls within the EPSRC Engineering and Mathematical sciences.Artificial muscles are materials characterised by their ability to contract, expand or rotate in response to external stimuli. Capable of large power-to-weight ratios and large ranges of motion, artificial muscles hold great promise for pushing forward various robotic applications, from robotic prosthetics and exoskeletons to medical robots [1]. There exist several actuators in this category, including piezoelectric actuators, shape-memory alloys and electroactive polymer actuators, each with their own advantages and limitations. A common problem with existing artificial muscles is the difficulty incorporating sensors that allow for actuation in response to their environment. These artificial muscles are disconnected from the behaviour of real muscular fibres, in which contraction is caused by the sliding of protein filaments relative to one another, driven by molecular motors [2]. The same mechanism is responsible for the movement of cilia and flagella, which are hair-like structures in cells that act as a fundamental unit of motion by converting chemical energy into mechanical work [3].The aim of the PhD project is to develop new artificial muscle cells based on the cilia and flagella. Responsible for a wide array of functions, from swimming algae to pumping fluid in the brains of mammals [4], cilia and flagella are a sensible starting point for the development of new artificial muscle cells. Recent research into the flagella beating in sperm [5] highlights the importance of additional structures present in sperm's flagella. By modelling the flagella as an elastic filament, I will use a coarse-grained approach [6] to develop a 3-dimensional model of sperm which allows for efficient simulation. This will allow me to model different structures in the flagella and highlight their importance for sperm movement in high-viscosity environments. I will also investigate the self-organisation of molecular motors which drive the flagllum beat, and once I have a suitable model I will use soft robotics to scale up the system to create robotics based on the flagella. The purpose here is to find the minimal set of interactions that give rise to artificial muscles capable of carrying out tasks. This PhD will not only contribute to our understanding of flagella motion and sperm function, but provide insight into a wide array of robotics applications. Self-organisation is also a universal property observered in numerous natural systems, including swimming bacteria and flocks of birds; this ensures that the PhD has potential to impact a wide array of fields1] Zhang, Jet al., Robotic Artificial Muscles: Current Progress and Future Perspectives, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, vol. 35, pp. 761-781 (2019)[2] Sweeney, H., & Holzbaur, E., Motor Proteins,Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives In Biology, vol. 10(2018)[3] Lodish H, Berk A, Zipursky SL, et al. Molecular Cell Biology. 4th edition. New York: W. H. Freeman. Section 19.4, Cilia and Flagella: Structure and Movement. (2000)

该项目属于 EPSRC 工程和数学科学范畴。人造肌肉是一种能够响应外部刺激而收缩、扩张或旋转的材料。人造肌肉具有较大的功率重量比和较大的运动范围，在推动从机器人假肢和外骨骼到医疗机器人等各种机器人应用方面具有广阔的前景[1]。该类别存在多种致动器，包括压电致动器、形状记忆合金和电活性聚合物致动器，每种致动器都有自己的优点和局限性。现有人造肌肉的一个常见问题是难以整合传感器来响应环境而进行驱动。这些人造肌肉与真实肌肉纤维的行为脱节，真实肌肉纤维的收缩是由分子马达驱动的蛋白丝相对滑动引起的[2]。同样的机制负责纤毛和鞭毛的运动，纤毛和鞭毛是细胞中的毛发状结构，通过将化学能转化为机械功，充当基本运动单位 [3]。该博士项目的目的是开发新的基于纤毛和鞭毛的人造肌肉细胞。纤毛和鞭毛负责多种功能，从游动藻类到哺乳动物大脑中的液体泵送[4]，是开发新型人造肌肉细胞的合理起点。最近对精子鞭毛跳动的研究 [5] 强调了精子鞭毛中存在的附加结构的重要性。通过将鞭毛建模为弹性丝，我将使用粗粒度方法 [6] 开发精子的 3 维模型，以便进行有效的模拟。这将使我能够对鞭毛的不同结构进行建模，并强调它们对高粘度环境中精子运动的重要性。我还将研究驱动鞭毛节拍的分子马达的自组织，一旦我有了合适的模型，我将使用软机器人来扩大系统规模，以创建基于鞭毛的机器人。这里的目的是找到产生能够执行任务的人造肌肉的最小相互作用集。该博士学位不仅有助于我们了解鞭毛运动和精子功能，而且可以深入了解各种机器人应用。自组织也是许多自然系统中观察到的普遍特性，包括游泳细菌和鸟群；这确保了博士学位有潜力影响广泛的领域1] 张杰等人，机器人人工肌肉：当前进展和未来展望，IEEE 机器人学报，卷。 35，第 761-781 页（2019）[2] Sweeney, H., & Holzbaur, E.，运动蛋白，冷泉港生物学观点，卷。 10(2018)[3] Lodish H、Berk A、Zipursky SL 等。分子细胞生物学。第四版。纽约：W.H.弗里曼。第 19.4 节，纤毛和鞭毛：结构和运动。 (2000)