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Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators

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Published on: May 20, 2018

Embedded Physical Intelligence in Liquid Crystalline Polymer Actuators and Robots.

Wei Feng¹, Qiguang He¹, Li Zhang¹

¹Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|February 20, 2024

Summary

Liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) enable smart actuators and robots that sense and respond to stimuli. This review categorizes LCP advancements by their control logic, highlighting future research directions.

Keywords:

liquid crystals physical intelligence robotics

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Robotics
Polymer Science

Background:

Responsive materials exhibit physical intelligence by sensing and reacting to external stimuli.
Liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) are key materials for stimuli-responsive shape-morphing and soft robotics.
Existing reviews focus on LCP actuators/robots, but lack comprehensive summaries of actuation principles and embedded physical intelligence.

Purpose of the Study:

To provide a comprehensive overview of LCP-based actuators and robots with physical intelligence.
To elucidate the underlying principles governing actuation in LCP systems.
To categorize advancements based on stimulus conditions and control logic.

Main Methods:

Categorization of LCP studies based on stimulus conditions: changing stimuli, constant stimuli, and learning/logic control.
Review of recent advancements in LCP-based actuators and robots.
Analysis of fundamental control and stimulation logic.

Main Results:

LCPs demonstrate remarkable reversible stimuli-responsive shape-morphing capabilities.
Systems are categorized into three main types based on their response to stimuli and control mechanisms.
Advancements in LCPs contribute to the development of physically intelligent soft robots.

Conclusions:

LCPs are crucial for developing soft robots with embedded physical intelligence.
Understanding LCP actuation principles is key to designing advanced responsive systems.
Further research is needed to address challenges and explore future avenues in LCP-based robotics.