Journal
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 40, Issue 16, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/marc.201900279
Keywords
bioinspired robotics; liquid crystal elastomers; photoactuation; soft robots
Categories
Funding
- National Science Centre (Poland) [2018/29/B/ST7/00192]
- Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW) Diamentowy Grant [DI2016 015046]
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Crawling by means of the traveling deformation of a soft body is a widespread mode of locomotion in nature-animals across scales, from microscopic nematodes to earthworms to gastropods, use it to move around challenging terrestrial environments. Snails, in particular, use mucus-a slippery, aqueous secretion-to enhance the interaction between their ventral foot and the contact surface. In this study, a millimeter-scale soft crawling robot is demonstrated that uses a similar mechanism to move efficiently in a variety of configurations: on horizontal, vertical, as well as upside-down surfaces; on smooth and rough surfaces; and through obstacles comparable in size to its dimensions. The traveling deformation of the robot soft body is generated via a local light-induced phase transition in a liquid crystal elastomer and resembles the pedal waves of terrestrial gastropods. This work offers a new approach to micro-engineering with smart materials as well as a tool to better understand this mode of locomotion in nature.
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