Research on the Kinematic Properties of a Sperm-Like Swimming Micro Robot

Nowadays, it has been one of the hottest topics for scientists to research the interventional micro robots operating in human lumen. In this paper, a novel sperm-like interventional swimming robot with single tail is presented. The kinematic models of the sperm-like helical swimming modes are built, and the motion principles are analyzed numerically. Positions and orientations are displayed graphically during the single-tail micro robot swims in liquid. Also, the displacements and the swimming velocities of the robot in x, y, z directions are plotted. It is shown that, when the single flexible tail screws in liquid environment, it generates both axial and radial propulsion forces, thus to cause the axial and the radial movements. In order to make the swimming micro robot more controllable, an improved sperm-like swimming intervention micro robot with four flexible tails is fabricated and characterized in pipes filled with silicone oil. Experimental results show that the sperm-like micro robot can swim efficiently. With different combinations of the tails' rotation directions, the robot can gain excellent controlled performance.