2018/05/09 by Daehoon Han, Cindy J. Farino, Chen Yang +5 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Materials and Mechanics #Micro and Nano Robotics #Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
paper · doi:10.1021/acsami.8b04250
Electroactive hydrogels (EAH) that exhibit large deformation in response to an electric field have received great attention as a potential actuating material for soft robots and artificial muscle. However, their application has been limited due to the use of traditional two-dimensional (2D) fabrication methods. Here we present soft robotic manipulation and locomotion with 3D printed EAH microstructures. Through 3D design and precise dimensional control enabled by a digital light processing (DLP) based micro 3D printing technique, complex 3D actuations of EAH are achieved. We demonstrate soft robotic actuations including gripping and transporting an object and a bidirectional locomotion.