Nonlinear cyclic pattern generation using an excitable chemical medium controller for a robotic hand

We discuss the experimental implementation of a chemical controller for a robotic hand. In the present case study, we design a closed system in which a Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) thin-layer chemical reactor linked to a robotic hand via an array of photo-sensors and fingers of the hand stimulates the excitation dynamics in a BZ medium. The principal working circle of chemo-robotic systems is that oxidation wave fronts traveling in the medium are detected by photo-sensors and cause (via a microcontroller) fingers to bend. When a finger bends, it applies a small quantity of colloid silver to the reaction and, thus, evokes an excitation wave. The traveling and interacting waves stimulate further movements of the fingers. In this paper, we offer an experimental set-up, including algorithms and interfacing, for an experimental chemical robotic hand controller, which contributes to the fields of non-classical computation, non-linear physics, and unconventional robotics.