Robotic Experimental Platform for Analysing Elastohydrodynamics of Soft-Rigid Filaments

The elastohydrodynamics of microscopic filaments is of broad scientific and engineering interest since it underlies many biological processes. Whilst mathematical models and experimental studies are commonly used to inform the design of more effective and compliant bio-inspired soft robots, in the case of elastic, microscopic filaments, several difficulties arise due to the scale of these biological systems and the complexity of the fluid-elastic interactions that arise. Therefore, this paper presents a novel macroscopic robotic platform to experimentally and empirically analyse the elastohydrodynamics of microscopic filaments under various conditions by using dynamically-scaled, soft-rigid filaments. Further novelty arises in the platform’s capability to automatically collect and process kinematic and force data. The accuracy of this experimental setup is evaluated by comparing the kinematic results of the experimental filament with a representative elastohydrodymanic mathematical model of a microscopic filament. The experimental results from 135 trials demonstrate strong agreement with the theoretical framework and high reliability with low variance across trials and low mean error. Overall, the platform is a robust and efficient tool for studying microscopic filaments, with potential applications in optimising soft-microrobot propulsion.