Bioinspired Design of Light‐Powered Crawling, Squeezing, and Jumping Untethered Soft Robot

Ahn, Chi‐Hyung; Liang, Xudong; Cai, Shengqiang

doi:10.1002/admt.201900185

Cited by 169 publications

(155 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Local irradiation with NIR light induces directed motility across both smooth and uneven surfaces. This same group prepared a mechanically aligned, CNT–LCE composite563 and subjected this system to magnetic stimuli to induce bioinspired deformations, including crawling and jumping (Figure 21b)…”

Section: Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Materials as Machines

2020

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of responsive materials as machines is in robotics. The vision, leadership, and research of Bar-Cohen is seminal in both invigorating and focusing current-day research activities to develop responsive materials [2] and implement [3] them as lightweight, dexterous, and gentle (e.g., soft) robotic elements. In this spirit, this review exhaustively details the materials, the nature of their stimuli-response, and discusses considerations for their implementation in robotic systems and subsystems.Robotics is a well-established but growing field of research. Sustained progress in both performance and functionality continue to be realized in commercial robotic systems largely based on conventional materials and their integration with mechanisms. A recent example is the Atlas robot from Boston Dynamics [4] (Figure 1a). The incorporation of stimuli-responsive materials in robotics has largely focused on component-level demonstrations to extend the performance of a subsystem (such as a hand or gripper).Stimuli-responsive materials, spanning nearly all classes of materials and size scales, are currently subject to widespread examination in corporate, government, and academic research laboratories (Figure 1b-d). [5][6][7] In some cases, these materials have already found widespread commercial implementation in end use and are comparatively mature. The materials and fundamentals of their responses are summarized in Figure 2. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) and ceramic piezoelectric materials are distinctive in that they are hard, stimuli-responsive materials. Deformation of these materials can produce large energy densities due to their inherent stiffness. Electroactive polymers (EAPs) remain a topic of considerable interest, particularly dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). Engineered systems are rapidly emerging and enabling performance gains in robotics, largely based on pneumatic or fluidic (such as HASEL [8] actuators) transport processes that localize deformation to generate force or produce motion. Soft materials, such as shape memory polymers (SMPs), hydrogels, and liquid crystalline polymer networks (LCNs) and elastomers (LCEs) may offer distinctive functional performance to robotic systems in allowing local control of deformation without the need for complex interfacing with mechanisms. As will be evident, each of these materials has inherent advantages and performance tradeoffs that must be considered in functional implementations. However, responsive material systems have a common obstacle to widespread use: the performance and Machines are systems that harness input power to extend or advance function. Fundamentally, machines are based on the integration of materials with mechanisms to accomplish tasks-such as generating motion or lifting an object. An emerging research paradigm is the design, synthesis, and integration of responsive materials within or as machines. Herein, a particular focus is the integration of responsive materials to enable robotic (machine) functions such as gripping, lifting, or motility (walk...

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Section: Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Materials as Machines

2020

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“…Shape programmability of both LCEs and LCNs has gained much attention in the burgeoning fields of soft robotics and stimuli‐responsive structures and devices, [ 23–37 ] albeit relying on simple 2D initial geometries, such as thin films, has hampered their extensive applications. In recent years, the development of new chemical formulations, like thiol–acrylate click chemistry, and novel fabrication techniques, like 3D printing, have introduced new opportunities in the shape‐change programmability of LCEs and LCNs through the manipulation of their initial geometry to 3D shapes.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

3D Microstructures of Liquid Crystal Networks with Programmed Voxelated Director Fields

2020

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The shape‐shifting behavior of liquid crystal networks (LCNs) and elastomers (LCEs) is a result of an interplay between their initial geometrical shape and their molecular alignment. For years, reliance on either one‐step in situ or two‐step film processing techniques has limited the shape‐change transformations from 2D to 3D geometries. The combination of various fabrication techniques, alignment methods, and chemical formulations developed in recent years has introduced new opportunities to achieve 3D‐to‐3D shape‐transformations in large scales, albeit the precise control of local molecular alignment in microscale 3D constructs remains a challenge. Here, the voxel‐by‐voxel encoding of nematic alignment in 3D microstructures of LCNs produced by two‐photon polymerization using high‐resolution topographical features is demonstrated. 3D LCN microstructures (suspended films, coils, and rings) with designable 2D and 3D director fields with a resolution of 5 µm are achieved. Different shape transformations of LCN microstructures with the same geometry but dissimilar molecular alignments upon actuation are elicited. This strategy offers higher freedom in the shape‐change programming of 3D LCN microstructures and expands their applicability in emerging technologies, such as small‐scale soft robots and devices and responsive surfaces.

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“…Actuators constructed by intelligent materials are capable of transforming external stimulus such as light, temperature, humidity, magnetic field and electricity into mechanical stress leading to various structural shapes and surprising movements especially on polymeric actuators. [ 1–14 ] Many polymer systems have been exploited as soft actuators for instance hydrogels, shape‐memory polymers and liquid crystalline polymers etc. which enable multiple stimuli‐responses, [ 15–17 ] and are promising to be developed as sensors, soft robotics, artificial muscle and microfluidic systems.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Reconfigurable Soft Actuators with Multiple‐Stimuli Responses

Zhao

Dou

Hou

et al. 2020

Macromol. Rapid Commun.

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Multiple‐stimuli responsive soft actuators with tunable initial shapes would have substantial potential in broad technological applications, ranging from advanced sensors, smart robots to biomedical devices. However, existing soft actuators are often limited to single initial shape and are unable to reversibly reconfigure into desirable shapes, which severely restricts the multifunctions that can be integrated into one actuator. Here, a novel reconfigurable supramolecular polymer/polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bilayer actuator exhibiting multiple‐stimuli responses is presented. In this bilayer actuator, the supramolecular polymer layer constructed of poly(5‐Norbornene‐2‐carboxylic acid‐1,3‐cyclooctadiene) (PNCCO) and azopyridine derivative (PyAzoPy) via H‐bonds provides multiple‐stimuli responses: PyAzoPy offers light response and carboxylic groups in PNCCO endow the actuator with humidity response. Meanwhile thermoplastic PET layer enables the bilayer actuators to be reconfigured into various shapes by thermal stimuli. The rationally designed actuators exhibit versatile capabilities to reversibly reconfigure into a set of initial shapes and carry out multiple functions, such as photo‐driven “foldback‐clip” and Ω‐shaped crawling robots. In addition, bio‐inspired plants constructed by reconfiguration of such actuators demonstrate reversible multiple‐stimuli responses. It is anticipated that these novel actuators with highly tunable geometries and actuation modes would be useful to develop multifunctional devices capable of performing diverse tasks.

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Bioinspired Design of Light‐Powered Crawling, Squeezing, and Jumping Untethered Soft Robot

Cited by 169 publications

References 46 publications

Materials as Machines

Materials as Machines

3D Microstructures of Liquid Crystal Networks with Programmed Voxelated Director Fields

Reconfigurable Soft Actuators with Multiple‐Stimuli Responses

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