Launching by cavitation

Abstract

Cavitation, characterized by formation of vapor bubbles in a low-pressure or high-temperature region of a liquid, is often destructive, but it can be harnessed for actuators and robots. We exploit cavitation to accumulate substantial energy in superheated liquids by suppressing its immediate release until reaching a stability limit. The energetic, unstable bubbles collapse violently, producing a burst of high power and force that initiates motion. Notably, a millimeter-scale device launched by cavitation can jump to a height of 1.5 meters—reaching a 12 meters per second (m/s) peak velocity, a 7.14 × 10 4 m/s 2 acceleration, and a 0.64% energy efficiency—and can also swim on water at 12 centimeters per second. Cavitation-based launching works with a broad range of device materials, liquid media, stimuli, and operational environments.