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Marimo actuated rover systems

Phillips, Neil; Draper, Thomas C; Mayne, Richard; Reynolds, Darren M; Adamatzky, Andrew

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Authors

Profile image of Neil Phillips

Dr Neil Phillips Neil.Phillips@uwe.ac.uk
Research Fellow in Fungal Analog Electronics

Dr Thomas Draper Tom.Draper@uwe.ac.uk
Research Fellow Biosensing/ Healthcare Technology

Richard Mayne



Abstract

Background: The potential to directly harness photosynthesis to make actuators, biosensors and bioprocessors has been previously demonstrated in the literature. Herein, this capability has been expanded to more advanced systems — Marimo Actuated Rover Systems (MARS) — which are capable of autonomous, solar powered, movement. Results: We demonstrate this ability is both a practical and viable alternative to conventional mobile platforms for exploration and dynamic environmental monitoring. Prototypes have been successfully tested to measure their speed of travel and ability to automatically bypass obstacles. Further, MARS is electromagnetically silent, thus avoiding the background noise generated by conventional electro/mechanical platforms which reduces instrument sensitivity. The cost of MARS is significantly lower than platforms based on conventional technology. Conclusions: An autonomous, low-cost, lightweight, compact size, photosynthetically powered rover is reported. The potential for further system enhancements are identified and under development.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 9, 2021
Online Publication Date Jan 5, 2022
Publication Date Jan 5, 2022
Deposit Date Nov 11, 2021
Publicly Available Date Jan 6, 2022
Journal Journal of Biological Engineering
Electronic ISSN 1754-1611
Publisher BioMed Central
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 16
Issue 1
Article Number 3
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s13036-021-00279-0
Keywords Biomimicry; Bio-energy; Bioengineering; Bio-rover; Soft robotics; Unconventional; Sustainability; Aegagropila linnaei; TRIZ; Cell Biology; Molecular Biology; Biomedical Engineering; Environmental Engineering
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8067873
Publisher URL https://jbioleng.biomedcentral.com/

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