Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Electrospun Liquid Crystal Elastomers as Stress-Free Thermo- and Photoresponsive Actuators.

ACS applied materials & interfaces·2026
Same author

Polydomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers with Mechanically Switchable Opacity for Thermal Shielding.

ACS polymers Au·2026
Same author

Saccharides-Based Polymers for Low Environmental Impact Adhesive Formulations.

ACS omega·2026
Same author

What Is the Right Chain Length? Liquid Crystalline Network Tuning by Molecular Design.

Macromolecules·2026
Same author

Light-Mediated Supramolecular Functionalization of Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembled Micelles.

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2025
Same author

An Amino-Yne Click Chemistry Approach for Multi-Responsive Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators.

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2025
Same journal

Ordered Polar Topological Domains Enabling Giant Second-Harmonic Generation in Ferroelectric Nematic Liquid Crystals.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026
Same journal

Dual-Functional Alumina Additive Enabling Efficient, Volumetric Mechanoluminescence for Nighttime Safety Footwear.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026
Same journal

Phase Transformation Accompanied by Evolution of Internal Stress and the Coupling Mechanism of Chemical-Mechanical Degradation in Single-Crystal NiRich Cathodes.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026
Same journal

Zwitterionic Polymer Electrolytes With Dipole-Rotation-Assisted Ion Conduction for Solid Lithium Metal Batteries.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026
Same journal

3D-Printed Ultra-Thin Solid Polymer Electrolytes with Superior Dielectric Properties for Wide Temperature Range All-Solid-State Batteries.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026
Same journal

Electrostatic Potential Tuning by Low-Volatility Halogenated Additive: Boosting PTQ10-Based Binary OPV to Near 20% Efficiency with High Scalability.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Single Wavelength Shadow Imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans Locomotion Including Force Estimates
08:41

Single Wavelength Shadow Imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans Locomotion Including Force Estimates

Published on: April 18, 2014

9.8K

Light-Fueled Microscopic Walkers.

Hao Zeng1, Piotr Wasylczyk2, Camilla Parmeggiani3

  • 1European Laboratory for Non Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), University of Florence, via Nello Carrara 1, 50019, Sesto, Fiorentino, Italy.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|June 3, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers created the first microscopic artificial walker using liquid-crystalline elastomer muscle. This tiny robot, made with direct laser writing, can move autonomously on various surfaces.

Keywords:
artificial musclesdirect laser writingliquid crystalline elastomerslocomotionmicroscopic robots

More Related Videos

Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects
10:19

Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects

Published on: April 13, 2011

13.4K
Quantitative Locomotion Study of Freely Swimming Micro-organisms Using Laser Diffraction
10:03

Quantitative Locomotion Study of Freely Swimming Micro-organisms Using Laser Diffraction

Published on: October 25, 2012

12.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Single Wavelength Shadow Imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans Locomotion Including Force Estimates
08:41

Single Wavelength Shadow Imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans Locomotion Including Force Estimates

Published on: April 18, 2014

9.8K
Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects
10:19

Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects

Published on: April 13, 2011

13.4K
Quantitative Locomotion Study of Freely Swimming Micro-organisms Using Laser Diffraction
10:03

Quantitative Locomotion Study of Freely Swimming Micro-organisms Using Laser Diffraction

Published on: October 25, 2012

12.0K

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Robotics
  • Microtechnology

Background:

  • Artificial locomotion is a key area of research in micro-robotics.
  • Developing autonomous micro-scale machines presents significant engineering challenges.
  • Liquid-crystalline elastomers offer unique properties for actuation at small scales.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To report the development of the first microscopic artificial walker.
  • To demonstrate autonomous locomotion capabilities of the artificial walker.
  • To showcase the integration of liquid-crystalline elastomer muscle in micro-robotics.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of the artificial walker using direct laser writing.
  • Integration of liquid-crystalline elastomer as the muscle component.
  • Testing of autonomous locomotion on diverse surfaces.

Main Results:

  • The microscopic artificial walker was successfully fabricated.
  • The walker demonstrated autonomous locomotion capabilities.
  • The walker is smaller than any known living terrestrial creatures.

Conclusions:

  • The successful creation of this walker marks a significant advancement in micro-robotics.
  • Liquid-crystalline elastomer muscles are viable for artificial locomotion at microscopic scales.
  • This technology opens possibilities for new applications in micro-scale exploration and manipulation.