Overview
- The National University of Singapore team reports in Science Advances that the same fields used for magnetic actuation also enhance the robot’s onboard flexible batteries.
- Vertically stacked, silicone-encapsulated Zn–MnO2 cells were embedded in the soft body to preserve pliability and maximize usable volume.
- Under magnetic enhancement, the batteries retained 57.3% capacity after 200 cycles, nearly doubling the performance of unenhanced samples and reducing dendrite formation.
- The authors attribute the gains to Lorentz-force redistribution of zinc ions during plating and magnetic spin alignment that strengthens the manganese oxide lattice.
- A manta ray–inspired robot demonstrated untethered swimming, obstacle detection, autonomous rerouting, and real-time telemetry, and the team plans added sensors and tests on other battery chemistries.