Kavli Affiliate: Paul McEuen
| First 5 Authors: Teaya Yang, David Hathcock, Yuchao Chen, Paul McEuen, James P. Sethna
| Summary:
We propose a novel design paradigm for multistate machines where transitions
from one state to another are organized by bifurcations of multiple equilibria
of the energy landscape describing the collective interactions of the machine
components. This design paradigm is attractive since, near bifurcations, small
variations in a few control parameters can result in large changes to the
system’s state providing an emergent lever mechanism. Further, the topological
configuration of transitions between states near such bifurcations ensures
robust operation, making the machine less sensitive to fabrication errors and
noise. To design such machines, we develop and implement a new efficient
algorithm that searches for interactions between the machine components that
give rise to energy landscapes with these bifurcation structures. We
demonstrate a proof of concept for this approach by designing magneto elastic
machines whose motions are primarily guided by their magnetic energy landscapes
and show that by operating near bifurcations we can achieve multiple transition
pathways between states. This proof of concept demonstration illustrates the
power of this approach, which could be especially useful for soft robotics and
at the microscale where typical macroscale designs are difficult to implement.
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