Sub‐millimeter robots—microrobots—that can autonomously perform mechanical work at the microscale would radically change new areas of human activity such as micromanipulation, microfabrication, or healthcare. Sets of identical microrobots that can connect into different, larger structures open the possibility for a “universal” microrobotic unit that fulfills a large variety of functions derived from the structure that multiple units can be assembled into. The capability of individual hydrogel microcrawlers to self‐assemble under confinement into periodically ordered planar structures is demonstrated. Subsequently, these can be bound together using light to form a solid porous sheet. The lateral shape of the sheet is imprinted during the binding process. Furthermore, the sheets bend into 3D structures, where the bending direction can be programmed. The resulting structures actuate anisotropically when exposed to heat or laser illumination and can be designed for various modes of operation, such as manipulation or untethered locomotion. The formation of ordered microstructures from individual mobile robots enables easier transport and remote assembly of these structures at the place of interest without the need for direct intervention.
A crucial component in designing soft actuating structures with controllable shape changes is programming internal, mismatching stresses. In this work, a new paradigm for achieving anisotropic dynamics between isotropic end‐states—yielding a non‐reciprocal shrinking/swelling response over a full actuation cycle—in a microscale actuator made of a single material, purely through microscale design is demonstrated. Anisotropic dynamics is achieved by incorporating micro‐sized pores into certain segments of the structures; by arranging porous and non‐porous segments (specifically, struts) into a 2D hexagonally‐shaped microscopic poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) hydrogel particle, the rate of isotropic shrinking/swelling in the structure is locally modulated, generating global anisotropic, non‐reciprocal, dynamics. A simple mathematical model is introduced that reveals the physics that underlies these dynamics. This design has the potential to be used as a foundational tool for inducing non‐reciprocal actuation cycles with a single material structure, and enables new possibilities in producing customized soft actuators and modular anisotropic metamaterials for a range of real‐world applications, such as artificial cilia.
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