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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
11:06
Design and Fabrication of an Elastomeric Unit for Soft Modular Robots in Minimally Invasive Surgery
Published on: November 14, 2015
High Center-of-Mass, Multi-Legged Soft Robots Powered by Geometrically Encoded Liquid Crystal Elastomer Arc
Jong Bin Kim1, Antonio Proctor Martinez1, Yaoye Hong1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|June 20, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed novel soft robots with liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) arc fibers for enhanced locomotion. These robots overcome surface limitations, achieving greater mobility and complex maneuvers for real-world applications.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Materials Science
- Biomimicry
Background:
- Soft robots often have limited mobility due to appendage-free designs and low center-of-mass (CoM).
- Existing soft robots are typically confined to contact surfaces, restricting their maneuverability and postural freedom.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create highly mobile soft robots that overcome surface constraints using biomimetic appendages.
- To enable complex locomotion modes inspired by biological organisms.
Main Methods:
- Utilized liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) arc fibers as appendages, encoding combined torsional and flexural deformation modes.
- Integrated LCE fibers into 3D-printed bodies with rotational symmetries, inspired by octopuses and golden wheel spiders.
- Leveraged fiber deformation kinetics and thermodynamics for controlled movement.
Main Results:
- Developed soft robots with an elevated CoM, achieving enhanced maneuverability and postural freedom (elevation, lowering, tilting, rotation).
- Demonstrated locomotion capabilities including rolling at 1.3 body lengths per second, climbing a 32.5° incline, and traversing unstructured terrain.
- Showcased the role of raised CoM inertia and effective appendage anchoring in achieving high mobility.
Conclusions:
- LCE arc fibers enable soft robots to transcend surface limitations and achieve complex, versatile locomotion.
- The design provides a foundation for customizable, high-mobility soft robotic platforms for navigating challenging environments.
- Biomimetic design integrating LCE appendages offers a pathway to advanced robotic mobility.
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