Communications of the ACM
Toward a Squishier Robot: Engineers Design Synthetic Gel That Changes Shape and Moves via Its Own Internal Energy
Time evolution of a rectangular SP-BZ gel in non-uniform light; time increases from (a) to (d). Both ends of the sample are exposed to light; the central circular region is not illuminated.
Credit: University of Pittsburgh News
University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed a synthetic polymer gel containing spirobenzopyran (SP) and Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) gels that can utilize internally generated chemical energy to undergo shape-shifting and self-sustained propulsion.
The technology could enable the development of "soft robots" that reconfigure their shape and move using internally generated power.
"Although researchers have previously created polymer chains with both the SP and BZ functionality, this is the first time they were combined to explore the ability of 'SP-BZ' gels to change shape and move in response to light," says Pittsburgh professor Olga Kuksenok.
The material integrates the ability of SP-functionalized gels to be molded with light and the autonomous mechanical actions of the BZ gels to create a new system that undergoes self-bending or folding, as well as self-propelled motion.
There were some unexpected results associated with the research. For example, the researchers found the light had to be placed in a certain way in order for the gel to move. "We also found that if we placed the SP in certain regions of the BZ gel and exposed this material to light, we could create new types of self-folding behavior," says Pittsburgh professor Anna C. Balazs.
From University of Pittsburgh News
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