Fluidics
The physical basis of fluidics is pneumatics and hydraulics, based on the theoretical foundation of fluid dynamics.
It is used mostly in environments where electronic digital logic would be unreliable, as in systems exposed to high levels of electromagnetic interference or ionizing radiation.
In 1959, Horton and his associates, Dr. R. E. Bowles and Ray Warren, constructed a family of working vortex amplifiers out of soap, linoleum, and wood.
[3] Their published result caught the attention of several major industries and created a surge of interest in applying fluidics (then called fluid amplification) to sophisticated control systems, which lasted throughout the 1960s.
[4][5] Horton is credited for developing the first fluid amplifier control device and launching the field of fluidics.
Fluidic amplifiers typically have bandwidths in the low kilohertz range, so systems built from them are quite slow compared to electronic devices.
In the consumer market, fluidically controlled products are increasing in both popularity and presence, installed in items ranging from toy spray guns through shower heads and hot tub jets; all provide oscillating or pulsating streams of air or water.
[15][16][17] Fluidic amplifiers are used to generate ultrasound for non-destructive testing by quickly switching pressurized air from one outlet to another.
Tests show that air forced into a jet engine exhaust stream can deflect thrust up to 15 degrees.
[24] In such uses, fluidics is desirable for lower: mass, cost (up to 50% less), drag (up to 15% less during use), inertia (for faster, stronger control response), complexity (mechanically simpler, fewer or no moving parts or surfaces, less maintenance), and radar cross section for stealth.
[29] In the United States, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program named Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) seeks "... to design, build, and flight test a novel X-plane that incorporates active flow control (AFC) as a primary design consideration.
[32] Octobot, a 2016 proof of concept soft-bodied autonomous robot containing a microfluidic logic circuit, has been developed by researchers at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.
