Integration of body-mounted ultrasoft organic solar cell on cyborg insects with intact mobility

Yujiro Kakei, Shumpei Katayama, Shinyoung Lee, Masahito Takakuwa, Kazuya Furusawa, Shinjiro Umezu, Hirotaka Sato, Kenjiro Fukuda*, Takao Someya*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Cyborg insects have been proposed for applications such as urban search and rescue. Body-mounted energy-harvesting devices are critical for expanding the range of activity and functionality of cyborg insects. However, their power outputs are limited to less than 1 mW, which is considerably lower than those required for wireless locomotion control. The area and load of the energy harvesting device considerably impair the mobility of tiny robots. Here, we describe the integration of an ultrasoft organic solar cell module on cyborg insects that preserves their motion abilities. Our quantified system design strategy, developed using a combination of ultrathin film electronics and an adhesive–nonadhesive interleaving structure to perform basic insect motion, successfully achieved the fundamental locomotion of traversing and self-righting. The body-mounted ultrathin organic solar cell module achieves a power output of 17.2 mW. We demonstrate its feasibility by displaying the recharging wireless locomotion control of cyborg insects.

Original languageEnglish
Article number78
Journalnpj Flexible Electronics
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022 Dec

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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