Soft actuators of organized self-oscillating microgels

Autonomously oscillating soft actuators have been successfully obtained by assembling pre-existing microgel particles. The amplitude of the actuator's oscillation could be controlled by selecting the types of oscillations of constituent microelements, i.e., swelling-deswelling or cooperative dispersing-flocculating motion of the microgels. The new actuators prepared by this fabrication process make the oscillating actuators suitable for practical use in microfluidic devices such as self-beating micropumps.