Adapting highly efficient, multi-functional, and sub-optimal biological system working principles to synthetic technologies is one of the current challenges of engineering design. Biologically inspired systems and robots can enable us to understand nature in more depth, and also provide alternative means of developing smart and advanced novel robotic mechanisms.
Conventional macro scale locomotive systems on water rely on the buoyancy force, which is proportional to volume submerged under the surface of the water. However, when the floating object is scaled down to millimeter sizes by a ratio of I/L, buoyancy force decreases by I/L3. Then, surface forces such as repulsive surface tension forces that are proportional to I/L start to dominate the buoyancy force. Water striders use this scaling effect to stay and walk on water without breaking the water surface. Therefore, this unique locomotion mechanism on water has very little drag and enables highly maneuverable and fast motion.
Recently, the unique characteristics of the water strider have been studied and understood, including the super-hydrophobicity of the legs and its static and dynamic locomotion behaviors. These features suggest a new mechanism that will enable miniature robots to walk on water. Another advantage of utilizing surface tensions as the primary source of locomotion on this robot is its added mobility on and accessibility to shallow water, where boat-like designs are limited by the device displacing water underneath the surface for movements.
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