紫罗兰种子推进机制启发机器人设计

Comparative analysis of seed biomechanics reveals principles that can guide soft robot technology S. N. Patek Responsive materials that convert environmental conditions, such as ambient humidity, into controlled and efficient movement are central to the rapidly expanding field of soft robotics—ranging from soft manipulators to locomoting, tetherless structures (1, 2). Such systems are ubiquitous in biology, especially in plants (3, 4). However, a pervasive challenge is not only to understand these intriguing biomechanical systems but to establish general principles that can be translated to the development of soft robotics. On page 1302 of this issue, Kim et al. (5) report how a seed propagation mechanism found in violets (Viola spp.) achieves precise sequential actuation—the conversion of stored energy to movement. …