Liquid Crystalline Elastomers in Soft Robotics: Assessing Promise and Limitations
Advanced Robotics Research, EarlyView.Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) are programmable soft materials that undergo large, anisotropic deformation in response to external stimuli. Their molecular alignment encodes directional actuation in a monolithic structure, making them long‐standing candidates for soft robotic systems.
Justin M. Speregen, Timothy J. White
wiley +1 more source
Numerical Modeling of Photothermal Self‐Excited Composite Oscillators
Advanced Robotics Research, EarlyView.We present a numerical framework for simulating photothermal self‐excited oscillations. The driving mechanism is elucidated by highlighting the roles of inertia and overshoot, as well as the phase lag between the thermal moment and the oscillation angle, which together construct the feedback loop between the system state and the environmental stimulus.
Zixiao Liu +6 more
wiley +1 more source
Large-Size Honeycomb-Shaped and Iris-Like Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators
, 2021 Bin Ni +5 more
openalex +1 more source
Hybrid Continuum Robot Designs and Architectures for Healthcare Applications
Advanced Robotics Research, EarlyView.Hybrid continuum robots represent an emerging class of flexible manipulators that blend materials, structures, and actuation concepts from the established fields of soft and continuum robotics. This review introduces an accessible framework to distinguish key hybridization approaches, surveys current designs aimed at complex clinical applications, and ...
Burak Ozdemir +4 more
wiley +1 more source
Functional Fibers in Soft Robotics: Advances in Material, Structural, and Systemic Tactics
Advanced Robotics Research, EarlyView.Fiber‐form robotic systems offer a scalable pathway toward embodied intelligence in soft robotics. This review surveys functional fibers as material, structural, and systemic elements, highlighting advances in responsive materials, architectural programing, and fabrication strategies.
Joonhee Won +5 more
wiley +1 more source
Strategic Design of Soft Actuators in Translational Medical Robotics for Human‐Centered Healthcare
Advanced Robotics Research, EarlyView.Soft robotics enables biocompatible, compliant medical devices, but clinical translation requires design‐driven engineering beyond materials. This perspective reviews implantable, surgical, and wearable systems by actuation mechanism, highlighting how optimized architectures and integration improve mechanical interfacing, adaptability, and durability ...
Ho Jun Jin +3 more
wiley +1 more source
Enhanced Actuation Stress in Variable Stiffness Liquid Crystal Elastomers
Advanced Intelligent SystemsLiquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are promising candidates for artificial muscles due to their thermo‐responsive nematic‐to‐isotropic transition, which enables high strains at accessible temperatures and mimics the adaptable resting state of natural ...
Sophia Eristoff +2 more
doaj +1 more source
Advances in Electroactive Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Intelligent Robotics and Electronics
Advanced Robotics Research, EarlyView.Electroactive liquid crystal elastomers (eLCEs) integrate molecular anisotropy with electrical functionality to enable programmable actuation and reconfigurable electronics. This review classifies eLCEs into robotic actuators and adaptive electronics, summarizes key actuation mechanisms, and highlights fabrication strategies that bridge materials to ...
Kavita Ramesh Rathod +14 more
wiley +1 more source
Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstation [PDF]
, 2022 Przemysław Grabowski +4 more
openalex +1 more source