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Four-Dimensional Printing of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel-Based Soft Robots
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Monolithic Three-Dimensional Functionally Graded Hydrogels for Bioinspired Soft Robots Fabrication.

Marco Piazzoni1, Elisa Piccoli2, Lorenzo Migliorini1

  • 1CIMaINa, Department of Physics, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.

Soft Robotics
|March 2, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Researchers developed a new liquid foam templating (LFT) method to create 3D functionally graded hydrogels (3D-FGHs). This technique enables variable stiffness in soft robots, improving their swimming speed and adaptability for bioinspired applications.

Keywords:
3D bioinspired structuresfunctionally graded hydrogelsmonolithic macrostructuresuntethered soft robots

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Area of Science:

  • Soft robotics
  • Materials science
  • Biomimetics

Background:

  • Bioinspired soft robotics seeks to replicate biological systems for enhanced motility and adaptability.
  • Fabricating monolithic structures with variable mechanical properties remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce a novel manufacturing approach for creating 3D functionally graded hydrogels (3D-FGHs).
  • To demonstrate the application of 3D-FGHs in bioinspired soft robotics.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a custom liquid foam templating (LFT) technique involving air bubble inclusion during UV photopolymerization.
  • Fabricated 3D-FGHs with controlled porosity gradients to achieve variable stiffness.

Main Results:

  • Achieved a tunable apparent Young's modulus ranging from 0.37 MPa to 0.09 MPa.
  • Successfully fabricated a fish-shaped soft robot demonstrating the LFT technique's feasibility.
  • Observed significant swimming speed improvements in robots with graded bodies.

Conclusions:

  • The LFT technique offers a viable solution for producing macroscopic, functionally graded hydrogel structures.
  • This advancement supports the development of biomimetic underwater soft robotics.