Non-muscle Powered Actuation Inspired by Cellular Morphology and Hydraulics of the Venus Flytrap

Abstract

Bio-inspired and bio-hybrid principles are used to design robots that imitate biological systems. Animals and insects are commonly selected as the prototype in this context due to their mobility. However, plants have been found to grow slowly but move rapidly based on hydraulics and mechanics. The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is an example of a carnivorous plant that eats insects, but the mechanism underlying its quick predation behavior has not been adequately explored in research. It is particularly important to determine how cells of this plant are grouped together, from the level of the cell to that of the tissue as well as from the microscopic to the macroscopic scale, such that they can perform this motion without the help of muscles. In this study, we map the cellular characteristics and cell distribution of the Venus flytrap. We propose an area-weighted central point to describe a units-driven principle of actuation and develop a computational model to verify it. We fabricate and test a physical model that patterned the cellular structure of the Venus flytrap to explore this mechanism by using chemically fixed and immobile samples. The hydrogel-based actuator replicates the deformation of the plant cell under turgor pressure. The statistical results show that the area-weighted center of the plant involves a shift, and this distribution actuates the bending-induced deformation of its lobes.

Yingzhe Wang (王颖哲)

Assistant Professor

My research interests include microfluidics, bio-hybrid robotics and micro-robotics.