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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Fabrication of Carbon-Based Ionic Electromechanically Active Soft Actuators

Fabrication of Carbon-Based Ionic Electromechanically Active Soft Actuators

Published on: April 25, 2020

Towards Differentiation in Untethered Microactuators: A Soft Fabrication Strategy.

Atalaya Milan Wilborn¹, Hamed Almohammadi¹, Peiyuan Qu¹

¹John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|July 7, 2025

Summary

This study presents a microfluidic method to create soft microactuators that differentiate like cells. These microactuators can be programmed for diverse shapes, textures, and behaviors using environmental cues.

Keywords:

hydrogels liquid crystal elastomers microfluidics shell buckling soft microactuators

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Last Updated: Jun 15, 2026

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Area of Science:

Soft robotics
Microfluidics
Materials science

Background:

Untethered soft microactuators are crucial for advanced robotics.
Controlling microactuator shape, texture, and function is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a microfluidic high-throughput fabrication method for untethered soft microactuators.
To enable programming of microactuator properties through environmental stimuli.

Main Methods:

Utilizing microfluidics to apply mechanical and chemical stimuli to hydrogel fibers.
Embedding liquid crystal (LC) monomer droplets for orthogonal programming of architecture.
Inducing shape and texture changes through controlled dehydration and magnetic field polymerization.

Main Results:

Fabrication of microparticles with diverse shapes (spindle, rod, dumbbell, etc.) and aspect ratios.
Generation of stable 3D patterns and surface textures via mechanical instability.
Creation of liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) microactuators with programmed shapes, patterns, and molecular structures.

Conclusions:

The developed method allows for high-throughput fabrication of sophisticated soft microactuators.
Environmental cues can program distinct differentiation-like behaviors in microactuators.
The resulting microactuators exhibit shape and actuation mode diversity upon heating.