Open AccessLight‐Fueled Polymer Film Capable of Directional Crawling, Friction‐Controlled Climbing, and Self‐Sustained Motion on a Human Hair
Author(s) -
Cheng Ming,
Zeng Hao,
Li Yifei,
Liu Jianxun,
Luo Dan,
Priimagi Arri,
Liu Yan Jun
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.202103090
Subject(s) - crawling , robot , climb , soft robotics , actuator , materials science , biomimetics , robotics , nanotechnology , computer science , mechanical engineering , acoustics , artificial intelligence , engineering , physics , aerospace engineering , medicine , anatomy
Recent efforts in stimuli‐responsive soft materials have enabled wirelessly controlled actuation with increasing degrees of freedom, yielding miniature robots capable of various locomotion in open environments such as on a plane or inside fluids. However, grand challenges remain in harnessing photomechanical deformation to induce locomotion and control of friction during the movement, especially for robotic actuations within constrained spaces. Here, the authors report a centimeter‐long polymer strip made of a liquid crystal network that is capable of versatile light‐fueled motions along a human hair. The soft polymer robot can translocate directionally upon temporally modulated excitation and climb vertically through friction control with light. A self‐oscillating strip is demonstrated to continuously translocate along the hair upon a constant light stimulus, and its gaiting is associated to the smoothness of the hair surface. The results offer new insights to small‐scale photo‐actuator, mechanical control, and automation in soft micro robotics.