Unit Cell Based Artificial Venus Flytrap

Nature's "inventions" have inspired designers, researchers and engineers for centuries. Over the past 25 years, progressive improvements in analytical and manufacturing technologies allowed us to understand more and more biological principles and to apply them to engineered systems. In recent years, this has led to the advancement and use of metamaterials in bioinspired systems. These material systems, mostly based on unit cells, allow engineering systems to be equipped with ever-new nature-like capabilities. In this study, we use novel bending elements to create doubly curved surfaces that can snap from concave to convex like the lobes of a Venus flytrap. By connecting two of these surfaces using a central actuator unit cell, an artificial Venus flytrap based on unit cells can be created for the first time. In this study, the closing behavior and the force required for the movement are characterized. Based on these results, a suitable environmentally activated actuator will be selected to generate an autonomous and adaptive artificial Venus flytrap system that can be used as a gripper for autonomous systems in the future.