Yang Chao, Wang Wei, Yao Chen, Xie Rui, Ju Xiao-Jie, Liu Zhuang, Chu Liang-Yin
School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China.
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China.
Sci Rep. 2015 Aug 28;5:13622. doi: 10.1038/srep13622.
In this study, soft hydrogel walkers with electro-driven motility for cargo transport have been developed via a facile mould-assisted strategy. The hydrogel walkers consisting of polyanionic poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid-co-acrylamide) exhibit an arc looper-like shape with two "legs" for walking. The hydrogel walkers can reversibly bend and stretch via repeated "on/off" electro-triggers in electrolyte solution. Based on such bending/stretching behaviors, the hydrogel walkers can move their two "legs" to achieve one-directional walking motion on a rough surface via repeated "on/off" electro-triggering cycles. Moreover, the hydrogel walkers loaded with very heavy cargo also exhibit excellent walking motion for cargo transport. Such hydrogel systems create new opportunities for developing electro-controlled soft systems with simple design/fabrication strategies in the soft robotic field for remote manipulation and transportation.
在本研究中，通过一种简便的模具辅助策略，开发出了具有电驱动运动能力用于货物运输的柔软水凝胶步行器。由聚阴离子型聚（2-丙烯酰胺基-2-甲基丙烷磺酸-co-丙烯酰胺）组成的水凝胶步行器呈现出带有两条用于行走的“腿”的弧形套环状形状。水凝胶步行器能够在电解质溶液中通过重复的“开/关”电触发实现可逆的弯曲和伸展。基于这种弯曲/伸展行为，水凝胶步行器可以通过重复的“开/关”电触发循环移动其两条“腿”，从而在粗糙表面上实现单向行走运动。此外，装载非常重货物的水凝胶步行器在货物运输方面也表现出出色的行走运动。这种水凝胶系统为在软机器人领域开发具有简单设计/制造策略的电控软系统以进行远程操作和运输创造了新机会。
