Smart Thermally Actuating Textiles

Abstract

Abstract Soft robots have attracted attention for biomedical and consumer devices. However, most of these robots are pneumatically actuated, requiring a tether and thus limiting wearable applications that require multiple controlled actuators. By pairing liquid‐vapor phase change actuation with a textile‐based laminated manufacturing method, smart thermally actuating textiles (STATs) eliminate the need for a pneumatic tether. STATs are lightweight and unobtrusive for wearable applications and exploit a facile manufacturing approach that supports arbitrary customization of the form factor and easy creation of connected arrays of individual robotic modules. Through integrated sensing and heating elements, STATs demonstrate closed‐loop feedback that enables dynamic pressure control in the presence of environmental temperature fluctuations.