Orthogonal actuation for power and control in untethered small-scale machines is achieved with self-powered protein chemical motors and plasticized liquid crystal networks.
Soft robots are composed of compliant materials that facilitate high degrees of freedom, shape‐change adaptability, and safer interaction with humans. An attractive choice of material for soft robotics is crosslinked networks of liquid crystal polymers (LCNs), as they are responsive to a wide variety of external stimuli and capable of undergoing fast, programmable, complex shape morphing, which allows for their use in a wide range soft robotic applications. However, unlike hydrogels, another popular material in soft robotics, LCNs have limited applicability in flooded or aquatic environments. This can be attributed not only to the poor efficiency of common LCN actuation methods underwater but also to the complicated relationship between LCNs and water. In this review, we elaborate on the relationship between water and LCNs and survey the existing body of literature where LCNs, both hygroscopic and non‐hygroscopic, are utilized in aquatic soft robotic applications. We then discuss the challenges LCNs face in widespread adaptation to aquatic soft robotic applications and, finally, envisage possible paths forward for their successful use in aquatic environments.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.