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Four-Dimensional Printing of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel-Based Soft Robots

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Bioinspired Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Soft Actuators.

Zhongbao Wang¹, Yixin Chen¹, Yuan Ma²

¹State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.

Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland)

|March 27, 2024

Summary

This review summarizes biomimetic stimuli-responsive materials for soft actuators, detailing actuation principles and material types. It highlights advancements and challenges in creating artificial muscles and smart devices.

Keywords:

bioinspired actuators smart materials soft robots stimuli-responsive materials

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Robotics
Biomimetics

Background:

Biological systems achieve complex movements via soft actuation, primarily muscle tissues.
Biomimetic stimuli-responsive materials are crucial for creating artificial soft actuators.
These materials convert various stimuli into mechanical energy for actuation.

Purpose of the Study:

To comprehensively review biomimetic stimuli-responsive materials for soft actuators.
To discuss various stimuli-responsive principles and their associated materials.
To explore the advantages and disadvantages of different soft actuator materials.

Main Methods:

Literature review of recent advances in stimuli-responsive materials for soft actuators.
Categorization of soft actuators based on stimuli: fluidic, electrical, thermal, magnetic, light, and chemical.
Analysis of material properties, including electroactive polymers, magnetic soft composites, and shape memory alloys.

Main Results:

Significant progress in developing bioinspired stimuli-responsive materials for soft actuators.
Detailed discussion on diverse actuation mechanisms and material classes.
Identification of key advantages and limitations for each material type.

Conclusions:

Stimuli-responsive materials are essential for advanced soft actuators in smart devices.
Further research is needed to overcome implementation challenges in industrial applications.
This review provides a critical outlook on the future of stimuli-responsive soft actuators.