They open the door to softer, safer and more adaptable robots that could be used in medical tools that gently move inside the body, wearable devices that change shape on the skin or smart packaging that reacts to its environment.
Two related studies demonstrate how these materials can be made at scale, programmed to change shape and controlled either by humidity or magnetic fields.
“Graphene oxide films are highly promising for next-generation soft robots and adaptive actuators, yet their real-world deployment remains limited because they are brittle, challenging to manufacture at scale and unable to generate complex or programmable motion,” said Cerruti. An actuator converts energy into motion to produce controlled…