Natural scale caterpillar soft robot is powered and controlled with light
Monday, August 22, 2016 - 05:01
in Physics & Chemistry
Researchers at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, using the liquid crystal elastomer technology originally developed in the LENS Institute in Florence, demonstrated a bio-inspired micro-robot capable of mimicking caterpillar gaits in natural scale. The 15-millimeter-long soft robot harvests energy from green light and is controlled by spatially modulated laser beam. Apart from traveling on flat surfaces, it can also climb slopes, squeeze through narrow slits and transport loads.