Credit: Wiley.
Nature's most interesting trait is natural camouflage. Scientists have developed a material that can mimic the camouflage capabilities of marine mollusks. They created a soft robot that responds to pressure and heat. They write in the journal that the cut-off tentacles can be welded together and recycled.
Natural camouflage can be achieved by the starfish, occidentals, and jellyfish, which can quickly change their colors or shapes to match the background. A research team from Southeast University in China has created a soft material that can mimic certain characteristics. They chose a liquid crystal elastomer that can change phases at different temperatures as an underlying material. The material part of the elastomer shrinks when heated up.
The researchers were able to make a soft robot crawl. They made the material in the shape of a starfish and added a dye to the underside of one of the tentacles. The site expanded when it was heated up by a photothermal effect, and when it was cooled down. The starfish robot slowly moved over the surface after only one arm received light.
The soft robot could change its color. A cross-linker was integrated into the material. The cross-linking system was made to break easily. During heating and under pressure, the dye molecule turned red. The authors said it was similar to the natural camouflage effect of a starfish.
The robot demonstrated self-healing and even recycling qualities. After the researchers cut off the appendage, it healed itself. The robot was cut to pieces and the same thing happened. The researchers made it into a starfish shape and regained a soft robot with properties that were intact.
The key to multiple adaptation was the integration of the cross-linking dye molecule, according to the authors. It acted as a light absorber and provided bonding to the network. The authors suggest using biomimetic soft materials with thermal and mechanochromic properties for artificial camouflage.
There is more information about the biomimetic soft Actuators Based on Liquid Crystal Elastomers. There is a DOI for 10.1002/anie.202115755.
A starfish-shaped soft robot that creeps, changes its color, and self-heals broken parts was retrieved on January 3, 2022.
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