Untethered Magnetic Soft Robot with Ultra-Flexible Wirelessly Rechargeable Micro-Supercapacitor as an Onboard Power Source

Soft robotics has developed rapidly in recent years as an emergent research topic, offering new avenues for various industrial and biomedical settings. Despite these advancements, its applicability is limited to locomotion and actuation due to the lack of an adequate charge storage system that can support the robot's sensory system in challenging conditions. Herein, an ultra-flexible, lightweight (& AP;50 milligrams), and wirelessly rechargeable micro-supercapacitor as an onboard power source for miniaturized soft robots, capable of powering a range of sensory is proposed. The simple and scalable direct laser combustion technique is utilized to fabricate the robust graphene-like carbon micro-supercapacitor (GLC-MSC) electrode. The GLC-MSC demonstrates superior areal capacitance (8.76 mF cm(-2)), and maintains its original capacitance even under extreme actuation frequency (1-30 Hz). As proof of conceptthe authors fabricate a fully integrated magnetic-soft robot that shows outstanding locomotion aptitude and charged wirelessly (up to 2.4 V within 25s), making it an ideal onboard power source for soft robotics.

Automated summary

Soft robotics has advanced rapidly in recent years, creating new possibilities for industrial and biomedical applications. However, its usage has been restricted to locomotion and actuation due to the lack of a suitable charge storage system for supporting the robot's sensory network in challenging conditions. This study presents an ultra-flexible, lightweight, and wirelessly rechargeable micro-supercapacitor as an onboard power source for miniaturized soft robots, enabling various sensory functionalities.