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SOFT ROBOTICS

Speedy soft robots

Nature Reviews Materials volume 5, page 785 (2020)Cite this article

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Their soft nature and wireless actuation allow soft robots to safely interact with the human body. Soft robotic devices can be constructed from polymeric materials that contain an actuation element, for example, polymers functionalized with magnetic particles. Such magnetic soft robots can move and perform tasks in response to an external magnetic field. However, magnetic soft robotic devices are currently limited by their low actuation speed, which prevents them from rapidly adapting to changing environments.

The researchers used a dynamic simulation method to guide the design of soft robots fabricated from a composite of polydimethylsiloxane and magnetic neodymium-iron-boron microparticles. The soft robots can be shaped into different geometries and they have a high maximum energy density, which allows them to perform large deformations, with bending angles of more than 90°, at high speed (100 Hz).

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  1. Nature Reviews Materials http://www.nature.com/natrevmats/

    Christine Horejs

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  1. Christine Horejs
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Correspondence to Christine Horejs.

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Horejs, C. Speedy soft robots. Nat Rev Mater 5, 785 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-00253-0

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