Rice University researchers are paving the way to developing soft robots that can adapt to the world around them. They developed a 3D printing technique, which they call reactive 4D printing, for making material that morphs into different shapes when exposed to changes in temperature, tension, or an electric current.
The research team produced an “ink” made of a liquid crystal polymer, with two sets of molecular links – one with the original printed shape, and another by cooling or heating the material. When the material was manipulated, it flipped between a flat surface and a curly one, among other changes.
The researchers said:
The challenge was to craft a polymer mix that could be printed in a catalyst bath without losing its shape.
A few downfalls include that the shape combinations are limited because you can’t print unsupported structures and their years away from being ready for large-scale production. Regardless, the practical uses of this technique could involve the development of soft robotics that move like jellyfish or shape-changing medical implants that morph to suit your body.
The research was published on June 2 in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
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