October_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 0 5 4 STRESS RELIEF ROBOT BEETLE GOES THE DISTANCE SOLO THANKS TO A METHANOL-FUELED MICROMUSCLE Scientists envision that swarms of robotic insects could assist search-and-rescue oper- ations. Yet tight spaces are out of reach for robots that must be tethered to an energy source. Enter the new bot in town that carries its liquid fuel inside its body. “I realized the critical issue was power,” says Néstor O. Pérez-Arancibia. His team at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles turned to methanol because in a given mass, it packs over 10 times the energy as tiny batteries. To turn methanol into motion, the researchers coated a nickel-titanium alloy wire with platinum. The alloy contracts like a muscle when heated, and extends when cool. The plat- inum generates heat by combusting any methanol vapor that comes in contact with it. By varying the exposure to fuel in a periodic pattern, the temperature varies and the micro- muscle accordions. That motion causes the bot’s forelegs to rear up. When the legs scooch back again, the body drags forward. Excluding fuel, the beetle bot weighs about as much as three grains of rice, on par with live insects. It crawls on flat surfaces while carrying up to 2.6 times its weight. It tack- les inclines steeper than the toughest treadmill setting. And it can run for over one hour, Pérez-Arancibia says. With a battery—even a state-of-the-art one—it would run for a few sec- onds at best, he estimates. There’s room for improvement: The beetle is slower than comparable robots and can’t be steered. Next-generation prototypes will use the same artificial muscle principle with a speedier, more maneuverable design and a different fuel. Flying robots are his ultimate goal. Specifically? “We want to do butterflies,” he says. Look ma, no wires! A tiny robotic bee- tle crawls, carries, and climbs without being connected to a power source. Courtesy of X. Yang, et al./Sci. Robot. STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, CIRCULATION, ETC. Required by the Act of 23 October 1962, Section 4369, Title 39, United States Code, showing the ownership, management, and circulation of Advanced Materials & Processes ®, publishes eight issues per year: January, February/March, April, May/June, July/August, September, October and November/December at 9639 Kinsman Road, Materials Park, Ohio 44073, USPS # 762-080. Annual subscription rate is $475. The publisher and editor are Scott D. Henry and Joanne Miller, respectively, both of 9639 Kinsman Road, Materials Park, Ohio, 44073. The owner is ASM International®, Materials Park, Ohio, which is a not-for-profit educational institution, the officers being; President and Trustee, Diana Essock; Vice President and Trustee, Judith A. Todd; Secretary and Acting Managing Director, Ron Aderhold; Treasurer and Trustee, John C. Kuli; Immediate Past President and Trustee, Zi-Kui Liu; Trustees, Burak Akyuz, Eliz- abeth Hoffman, Diana Lados, Navin Manjooran, Toni Marechaux, Jason Sebastian, Larry Somrack, Priti Wanjara, and Ji-Cheng Zhao; Student Board Members Ho Lun Chan, Payam Emadi, and Casey Gilliams. There are no known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of the total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities. The issue date for circulation data below is July/August 2020. The average number of copies of each issue during the pre- ceding 12 months is: (a) Total number of copies printed: 7,987; (b) Paid and/or requested circulation: (1) Paid/requested out- side-county mail subscriptions: 7,017; (2) Paid in-county subscriptions: 0; (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other non-USPS paid distribution: 542; (4) other classes mailed through the USPS: 0; (c) Total paid and/or requested circulation: 7559; (d.1) Free distribution or nominal outside-county: 77; (d.3) Free distribution by mail: 81; (e) Total free distribution: 158; (f) Total distribution: 7,717; (g) Copies not distributed: 378; (h) Total: 8,095; (i) Percent paid: 93. The actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date is: (a) Total number of copies printed: 9,344; (b) Paid and/or requested circulation: (1) Paid/requested outside-county mail subscriptions: 8,430; (2) Paid in-county subscriptions: 0; (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other non-USPS paid distribution: 485; (4) other classes mailed through the USPS: 0; (c) Total paid and/or requested circulation: 8915; (d.1) Free distribution or nominal outside-county: 81; (d.3) Free distribution by mail: 85; (e) Total free distribution: 166; (f) Total distribution: 9,081; (g) Copies not distributed: 330; (h) Total: 9411; (i) Percent paid: 98. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Scott D. Henry, Publisher