This five-year, $454,772 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems will fund foundational research at The University of Akron to develop a new class of biomimetic microrobots for applications in targeted therapeutics, environmental remediation, and microscale cargo delivery. Inspired by collective animal behaviors like schooling fish and flocking birds, the microrobots will utilize off-center repulsive interaction sites to achieve controlled directional motion without aggregation as a swarm, overcoming barriers that currently limit exploitation of cooperative microrobot behavior. The university researchers will develop continuum kinetic models, perform linear stability analysis, and use agent-based simulations to study emergent phenomena in large microrobot systems and elucidate ordered, motile-crystal and liquid-like states. Additionally, the project will offer an undergraduate course on biorobotics and assess impacts on career selections, with complementary educational studies evaluating learning outcomes from hands-on experiments versus augmented reality approaches for high school students exploring scientific concepts in microrobotics and low Reynolds number hydrodynamics. Funded under the National Science Foundation Engineering Directorate's program to foster innovation in engineering research and education, this project aims to establish a new platform for transformative microrobotic functionalities inspired by biology.
Mod # | Description | Reason For Modification | Federal Obligation (Click to sort descending) | Date (Click to sort ascending) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $454.8k | 12/8/22 |