Usually created from highly compliant, often bio-inspired materials, soft microrobots occupy a fascinating sub-field of robotics. With their flexibility and adaptability, they find deployment in an ...

Reconfigurable structures that can repeatedly change their ...

Thermal microactuators and electrothermal actuation systems are pivotal components in modern microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), converting electrical energy into controlled mechanical motion via ...

Using a new precision bonding process they developed, Penn State researchers have designed and fabricated tiny new piezoelectric microactuators -- the largest only a hair's breadth wide -- based on ...

Figure 1: an illustration of how the micrometer-scale hydrogel actuators work. a. When an external electric field is applied, water inside the soft hydrogel moves through its internal network, causing ...

Scientists have developed microscopic, hydrogel-based muscles that can manipulate and mechanically stimulate biological tissue. These soft, biocompatible robots could be used for targeted therapy and ...

Human tissues experience a variety of mechanical stimuli that can affect their ability to carry out their physiological functions, such as protecting organs from injury. The controlled application of ...