Plant-inspired adaptive structures and materials for morphing and actuation: a review

Area of Science:

• Biomimetics and Materials Science
• Engineering and Robotics
• Plant Biology

Background:

• Plants exhibit diverse reversible motions (e.g., pine cones opening, Venus flytraps closing) without muscles.
• These natural mechanisms inspire engineered adaptive materials and structures for morphing and actuation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent developments in plant-inspired adaptive structures and materials.
• To explore actuation strategies and physiological features in plant movements.
• To foster cross-disciplinary studies between plant biology and engineering.

Main Methods:

• Overview of plant actuation strategies and physiological features.
• Survey of engineered plant-inspired morphing and actuation systems.
• Categorization of systems including pressurized cellular structures, osmotic actuation, hygroscopic materials, and bistable systems.

Main Results:

• Different plant movement strategies yield varied deformation characteristics and response speeds.
• Engineered systems, though diverse, are rooted in plant-based actuation principles.
• Identified key plant-inspired systems: pressurized cellular, osmotic, anisotropic hygroscopic, and bistable.

Conclusions:

• Plant-inspired actuation principles can be applied to engineered systems across various scales.
• This research promotes interdisciplinary collaboration for novel engineering solutions.
• Potential applications include morphing airframes, soft robotics, and kinetic architectures.