Suprabot
Financiado
Swarming supramolecular robots
Biological robots perform complex biological functions such as cell division. Microtubule-asters, for example, use extendable ‘legs’ emanating from a central point to position themselves at the center of the cell or to mechanicall...
Biological robots perform complex biological functions such as cell division. Microtubule-asters, for example, use extendable ‘legs’ emanating from a central point to position themselves at the center of the cell or to mechanically pull chromosomes apart. Their legs are formed by dissipative supramolecular polymerization of tubulin dimers into microtubules, powered by guanosine triphosphate ‘chemical fuel’.
This ‘Suprabot’ ERC-CoG proposal aims to make fully synthetic analogous of the microtubule-asters. Suprabots are multilegged micron-sized supramolecular robots that can change shape, move directionally, and show collective swarming behavior when in close proximity of each other. A single suprabot ‘leg’ consists of a supramolecular polymer bundle that is powered by chemical fuels and/or by light under non-equilibrium conditions. The needed reaction cycles to extend and contract a single ‘leg’, and the leg dynamics that are obtained under non-equilibrium conditions are investigated in work package 1. The legs are attached to a central point by accurately controlling (secondary) nucleation in a microfluidic device. This allows multiple legs to exert forces onto the walls of various microfluidic channels resulting in directed motility in work package 2. Finally, many suprabots are placed in close proximity, where they push against each other, resulting in collective ensemble-behavior. This leads to dynamic suprabot-lattices and collective swarm rotation if supplied with enough chemical energy or light in work package 3. Suprabots compete for shared resources and can develop predatory behavior.
Suprabot serves as an integrative platform to bring together so far disjoint concepts in Supramolecular Systems Chemistry and Swarm Robotics, to bring us closer to biological-like functions in fully artificial chemical systems.
ver más
Duración del proyecto: 61 meses
Fecha Inicio: 2023-10-24
Fecha Fin: 2028-11-30
Fecha Fin: 2028-11-30
Línea de financiación: concedida
El organismo HORIZON EUROPE notifico la concesión del proyecto el día 2023-10-24
Línea de financiación objetivo
El proyecto se financió a través de la siguiente ayuda:
ERC-2022-COG:
ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS
Cerrada
hace 2 años
Presupuesto
El presupuesto total del proyecto asciende a
3M€
Líder del proyecto
FUNDACION IMDEA NANOCIENCIA
Otra investigación y desarrollo experimental en ciencias naturales y técnicas asociacion
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5
130K
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5
130K