Soft Robotics: Light‐Driven Soft Robot Mimics Caterpillar Locomotion in Natural Scale (Advanced Optical Materials 11/2016)

Abstract

With proper alignment of the molecules in liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) films, the material deformation can be engineered. On page 1689, P. Wasylczyk and co-workers show that, upon illumination with laser light, a 15 mm long stripe of LCE soft material curls in a way that mimics the caterpillar body motion. The miniature soft robot can crawl on flat surfaces, climb slopes, squeeze through obstacles, and transport loads.