Transformable thin-film robots capable of crawling, rolling, and oscillation
By:
Yan, Z (Yan, Zhe) [1] ;
Wang, YL (Wang, Yanli) [1] ;
Bian, MX (Bian, Mengxi) [1] ;
Wang, M (Wang, Meng) [1] ;
Zhou, X (Zhou, Xiang) [2] , [4] ;
Yin, SG (Yin, Shougen) [1] ;
Qin, WJ (Qin, Wenjing) [1] ;
Liu, ZF (Liu, Zunfeng) [2] , [3]
APPLIED MATERIALS TODAY, 2022,
28, Article Number 101514
DOI
10.1016/j.apmt.2022.101514
Abstract
Limited by their size, small-scale robots are usually simple in structure and unable to achieve various motions to adapt to changing environments with a single control method. The emergence of multi-motion transformable actuators based on one stimulus provides a solution to this problem. Here, we report novel photothermal bimorph actuators that generate deformation based on asymmetric thermal expansion of the bilayer structure combined with a shape memory material having heat shrinkage properties. These photothermal actuators can be transformed simply by heating or illumination to achieve different shapes and functions. Furthermore, an actuator was made into a light-driven transformable small-scale robot with the capacity of multiple types of motion. Driven by light alone, the robot can transform from a crawling robot moving at a speed up to 2.28 mm s-1 to one rolling at 6.9 mm s-1 and further to a spontaneously oscillating one with a frequency of 3 Hz. These results demonstrate a promising approach to realize multiple functions and motions in one actuator, as well as a small-scale robot using only one control method.