Zhiyong Xia, Tessa B. Van Volkenburg, Jennifer M. Boothby, Jarod C. Gagnon, Emil G. McDowell, Luke J. Currano, and Morgana M. Trexler

Abstract

Liquid crystal elastomer (LCE)–based soft robots with reversible actuation could be beneficial for both Department of Defense and civilian applications, including in exploration of confined spaces, payload delivery, remote sensing and data collection, and small biomedical devices. In the work described in this article, we developed a first-principle model for designing high-work-capacity LCEs. Further, we built bilayer structures for actuation applications. We then built a Bluetooth-controlled soft robotic system and quantified its performance. The article also discusses the outlook for LCE-based soft robotics for Department of Defense applications.

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