Abstract
Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are smart materials capable of changing their shapes in a predefined manner under a proper applied stimulus and have gained considerable interest in several application fields. Particularly, two-way and multiple-way SMPs offer unique opportunities to realize untethered soft robots with programmable morphology and/or properties, repeatable actuation, and advanced multi-functionalities. This review presents the recent progress of soft robots based on two-way and multiple-way thermo-responsive SMPs. All the building blocks important for the design of such robots, i.e., the base materials, manufacturing processes, working mechanisms, and modeling and simulation tools, are covered. Moreover, examples of real-world applications of soft robots and related actuators, challenges, and future directions are discussed.
Highlights
Nowadays, soft matter is increasingly being used in robotic technology thanks to its great flexibility, light weight, and inexpensive mass production [1]
Motivated by the discussed framework, the present paper aims to give an overview about the current state-of-the-art on multiple-way and two-way shape memory polymers (SMPs) and their application to programmable soft robotics
The present paper has reviewed the current progress on soft robots based on multiple-way and two-way SMPs
Summary
Soft matter is increasingly being used in robotic technology thanks to its great flexibility, light weight, and inexpensive mass production [1]. Some contributions to the development of untethered, programmable soft robots that exhibit repeatable actuation and multi-functionalities exist and involve: (i) shape changing soft materials, in which shape-shifting is encoded in the original material structure and allows simple (intrinsically-reversible) shape variations (e.g., [32]); (ii) shape memory soft materials, in which shape-shifting is not encoded in the original material structure, but programming of complex shape variations is allowed on demand (e.g., [31,33]) In the latter case, shape variations are typically not reversible; different solutions offering a powerful combination of reversible and programmable shape variations (e.g., [31,33] and references therein) have recently attracted wide attention. Examples of real-world applications of soft robots and related actuators from the literature will be described and discussed, together with current challenges and future advancements
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