Ciliary motion

0199302-32

[DEFINITION]
Coordinated motion of multiple cilia.

[DESCRIPTION]
Progressive waves are generated by coordinated motion of multiple cilia, which is used to transfer fluid or tiny particles, or are used to propel a microscopic organism itself. An example of the former is the ejection of microscopic waste from human tracheae, and of the latter is the swimming of unicellular organisms, such as paramecium. By imitating these ciliary motions, actuators with many artificial cilia have been fabricated by micromachining.

[References]
(1)(3)(5)

[Related Terms]
Biomimetics