基于机器人移动与感知的自主热力学循环

中文摘要 AI 辅助

热力学循环是自然与工程系统中能量转换的基础，可将热量转化为有用功。然而，这类传统循环在固定的热库之间运行，限制了其适用的特定位置和温度差。本文介绍了由机器人移动与感知实现的自主热力学循环，使机器人能够通过访问空间变化的温度场来执行热力学循环。我们使用充满气体的多稳态胶囊在系统内跨热梯度循环，通过实验实现了这一概念。我们的模型表明，胶囊能量状态的快速转变使系统能够作为移动热机运行，从而收集并储存能量。通过将胶囊尺度的内部能量动力学与机器人的大尺度导航策略关联，我们优化了平衡运动成本与能量收集的运动路径。这些发现表明，当自主系统在环境中导航时，热力学循环可以出现，为跨空间资源觅食能量的生物提供了人工类似物。

英文摘要

Thermodynamic cycles are the foundation of energy conversion across natural and engineered systems, transforming heat into useful work. However, these cycles traditionally operate between fixed thermal reservoirs, restricting them to specific locations and temperature differences. Here, we introduce autonomous thermodynamic cycles enabled by robotic mobility and sensing, allowing robots to perform thermodynamic cycles by accessing spatially varying temperature fields. We experimentally realize this concept using multistable gas-filled capsules that circulate within the system across a thermal gradient. Our model reveals that rapid transitions in the capsules' energy states allow the system to operate as a mobile heat engine that harvests and stores energy. By linking the capsule-scale internal energy dynamics to the robot's large-scale navigation strategy, we optimize locomotion paths that balance motion cost and energy harvesting. These findings demonstrate that thermodynamic cycles can emerge when autonomous systems navigate their environments, offering an artificial analog of organisms that forage for energy across spatial resources.

发表机构

• Technion – Israel Institute of Technology（以色列理工学院）

机构由 AI 辅助整理，请以论文原文为准。