KAPSUL DA KE FASHEWA KAMAR KWASFAR IRI

Ƙananan microrobots na maganadisu za su iya wata rana su kewaya hanyar narkewar abinci don isar da magunguna, magance rauni ko ɗaukar hotuna. Amma da farko dole su isa can lafiya — an kare su daga asidi, majina da gaurayawar ciki — sannan a sake su da sauri a daidai wurin. Kapsul na yau ko dai suna ɗauke da injuna, sifirori da na’urorin lantarki, waɗanda ke barin ƙaramin wuri ga kayan, ko kuma suna dogara ga kayayyaki “masu wayo” da ke ɗaukar mintuna zuwa awanni kafin su buɗe.

Mengfan Zhang, Zike Chen, Rui Xiao, Guoyong Mao da abokan aikinsu a Jami’ar Zhejiang, a Hangzhou, sun sami mafitarsu a wata shuka mai fure.

Dabarar kwasfar da ke fashewa

Idan kwasfar iri ta Impatiens balsamina ta nuna, ɗan taɓawa kaɗan yana sa ta fashe: ɓangarorinta suna naɗewa ciki a ƙiftawar ido kuma suna watsa irin. A cikin nau’o’in da ke da alaƙa, iri suna tashi a kusan mita 1 zuwa 4 a cikin daƙiƙa. Ƙa’idar ita ce sifirin da aka kulle: ɓangarorin da suka lanƙwasa suna adana kuzarin miƙewa (elastic energy), kuma naman da ke kewaye yana aiki a matsayin makulli. Ka saki makullin, sai kuzarin da aka adana ya yi dukkan aikin.

Sassa uku

Kapsul ɗin yana kwaikwayon wannan tsari da sassa uku:

• murfi mai laushi na silicone, wanda aka juya ciki-waje lokacin haɗawa — shi ne sifirin;
• gindin roba da aka buga da firinta na 3D, silinda mai faɗin millimetre 8 da tsayin millimetre 5, da ƙaramin ɗaki don robots;
• zoben gel da aka yi da gelatin, carrageenan da ƙananan ƙwayoyin iron oxide (nanoparticles) — shi ne makullin.

A ƙarƙashin filin maganadisu mai canzawa (alternating magnetic field), ƙananan ƙwayoyin suna dumama gel ɗin. Yana yin laushi kuma yana yagewa daga ciki, murfin ya koma siffarsa da ƙarfi, kuma kapsul ɗin ya fashe ya buɗe. Gelatin tsantsa zai narke tsakanin 30 da 36 °C, wanda ya yi kusa da zafin jiki sosai; ƙara carrageenan yana sa gel ɗin ya kasance da ƙarfi a 37 °C, da sauyawa zuwa ruwa a 51.6 °C.

Daidaita sifirin

Mafi wuyan sashi na injina ne. Murfin da aka juya zai iya zama mai daidaito biyu (bistable) — ya ci gaba da kasancewa a juye bayan an tura shi — kuma a lokacin ba zai sake buɗewa ba. Dole ne ya zama mai daidaito ɗaya (monostable), koyaushe yana komawa. Amma murfin da ya yi tauri da yawa zai yage gel ɗin kafin a kunna shi. Ta hanyar kwaikwayon kwamfuta, ƙungiyar ta zana taswirar waɗanne siffofi ne masu daidaito biyu ko ɗaya kuma ta gano cewa zoben da ake amfani da shi don manne murfin yana tura shi zuwa daidaito biyu, don haka dole murfin ya fi kauri fiye da harsashi na littafin karatu. Murfinsu na ƙarshe: tsayin millimetre 2.6 da kaurin millimetre 1.5 a kan rabin-faɗin millimetre 5. Idan aka sake shi da hantsaki (tweezers), irin wannan murfi yana tashi a gudun mita 1.21 a cikin daƙiƙa kuma yana rabuwa gaba ɗaya cikin millisecond 100.

Daga hanyar da aka buga zuwa cikin alade

A cikin cikakken gwajin, maganadisu yana zamar da kapsul ɗin a rufe a kan wata hanya da aka buga da firinta na 3D zuwa inda ake so cikin kusan daƙiƙa 70. Sannan filin mai canzawa yana dumama gel ɗin daga kusan 20 zuwa 41 °C. Kapsul ɗin yana buɗewa ƙasa da millisecond 50 bayan gel ɗin ya yi laushi, kuma ana jefar da robots ɗin a kusan mita 1.0 a cikin daƙiƙa — ƙarshen ƙasa na kewayon gudun irin. Sannan maganadisu yana tattara su zuwa wuraren da aka zaɓa. “Robots” a nan ƙananan guntaye ne na roba mai maganadisu (magnetic elastomer).

A kan cikin alade a wajen jiki, kapsul ɗin ya kasance a rufe yayin da ake jagorantarsa a kan naman kuma ya buɗe bisa umarni. Naman mai laushi mai ɗanko ya shanye wani ɓangare na kuzarin: gudun harbawa ya faɗi zuwa kusan mita 0.5 a cikin daƙiƙa da farko. Har yanzu ana iya jagorantar robots ɗin da aka saki a saman. Idan aka ajiye kapsul ɗin a juye, yana buɗewa a hankali ba tare da jefa komai ba, kuma maganadisu yana jawo robots ɗin waje — hanya mafi laushi.

Marubutan sun lissafa abin da ya rage: babu gwaji a cikin dabba mai rai, ba a san halin gel ɗin a cikin asidin ciki da ruwayen narkewar abinci ba, kuma gel mai ƙarfi zai narke a zafin jiki mafi girma shi ma. Huɗu daga cikinsu — Mao, Zhang, Chen da Xiao — sun shigar da takardar neman haƙƙin mallaka (patent) a kan kapsul ɗin.