AUTHOR=Song Xiaowen , Zhang Weitian , Liu Haoran , Zhao Limeng , Chen Qi , Tian Hongmiao 

TITLE=3D printing of liquid crystal elastomers-based actuator for an inchworm-inspired crawling soft robot

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Robotics and AI

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/robotics-and-ai/articles/10.3389/frobt.2022.889848

DOI=10.3389/frobt.2022.889848

ISSN=2296-9144

ABSTRACT=Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) have shown great potential as the soft actuating materials in soft robots, with large actuation strain and fast response speed. However, to achieve the unique features of actuation, the liquid crystal mesogens should be well aligned and permanently fixed by polymer networks, limiting their practical applications. The recent progress in the 3D printing technologies of LCEs have overcome the shortcomings in the conventional processing techniques. In this work, we studied the relationship between the 3D printing parameters and the actuation performance of LCEs in detail. We further demonstrate a kind of inchworm-inspired crawling soft robot based on liquid crystal elastomeric actuator, coupled with an anisotropic friction using tilted fish-scale-like microstructures as the foot for moving forwards. In addition, the anisotropic friction of inclined scales with different angles was measured for demonstrating the performance of anisotropic friction. We also tested the kinematic performance of inchworm-inspired robot on different surfaces.