A bio-inspired co-simulation crawling robot enabled by a carbon dot-doped dielectric elastomer

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Robotics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Flexible actuation materials are essential for advanced biomimetic robots.
• Enhancing actuator performance and functionality is key to meeting diverse environmental demands.
• Current actuators require improved mechanical, dielectric, and responsive properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel elastomer with combined optical and electrical co-stimulation properties.
• To create a biomimetic crawling robot inspired by fireflies using the developed material.
• To enhance the performance of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) through material innovation.

Main Methods:

• Adsorbing N-doped carbon dots (NCDs) onto SiO2 to form functional particle clusters.
• Preparing a NCDs@SiO2/PDMS elastomer composite.
• Integrating a transparent single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) mesh electrode for a hybrid DEA.
• Investigating optical (fluorescence) and electrical (actuation) responses under co-stimulation.

Main Results:

• The NCDs@SiO2/PDMS elastomer demonstrated improved mechanical and dielectric properties.
• The hybrid DEA achieved an 826% increase in out-of-plane displacement under low electric fields.
• NCDs exhibited stable fluorescence under UV excitation within the polymer matrix.
• A transparent biomimetic crawling robot was successfully fabricated and demonstrated stealthy movement and UV-induced fluorescence.

Conclusions:

• The NCDs@SiO2/PDMS elastomer offers a promising platform for advanced biomimetic actuators.
• The combined optical and electrical co-stimulation properties enable novel functionalities in soft robotics.
• This work paves the way for developing high-performance, responsive, and stealthy biomimetic robots.