Soft Microrobots Employing Nonequilibrium Actuation via Plasmonic Heating

A soft microrobot composed of a microgel and driven by the light-controlled nonequilibrium dynamics of volume changes is presented. The photothermal response of the microgel, containing plasmonic gold nanorods, enables fast heating/cooling dynamics. Mastering the nonequilibrium response provides control of the complex motion, which goes beyond what has been so far reported for hydrophilic microgels.