Adaptable Robots: Researchers Use Graphene Oxide Films for Shape Change
Movable structures can be manufactured from flexible, tear-resistant graphene oxide films, which simultaneously provide feedback on their body positioning.
A structure made of pre-folded graphene oxide film hops over an obstacle.
(Image: McGill University)
A research team from Canada's McGill University has developed an ultra-thin material in the form of graphene oxide films that can be moved or shaped by moisture or magnetic fields. This allows for the creation of soft, adaptable robots that can be used in the medical field, for example, and can move safely within the human body without causing damage. The construction of wearables that independently adapt to body shape is also possible.
The departments of Bio-Resource Engineering and Mining and Materials Engineering at McGill University use simple, paper-like films made of pre-folded graphene oxide. Thanks to the folds of the ultra-thin material, inspired by the Japanese paper-folding art of Origami, the robots or devices made from it can adopt different shapes or be set in motion, allowing the structures to walk, turn, or rotate, for example.
Furthermore, the film provides feedback on its shape, thus being able to perceive its own movements, as is evident from the two studies „Strong and flexible graphene oxide paper for humidity responsive origami metamaterials“ and „Multifunctional and Reprogrammable Magnetoactive Graphene Oxide Origami“, which were published in Materials Horizons and Advanced Science, respectively.
Movement through Moisture or Magnetic Field
The stable, tear-resistant film can be brought into another predefined shape by using moisture. For example, the researchers created an origami-like structure that opened under moisture and closed again during the drying process. This allows for the creation of devices that react to environmental conditions and then perform simple movements.
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In a second experiment, the scientists combined the pre-folded graphene oxide film with magnetic particles to bring it into different shapes or set it in motion via an external magnetic field. The scientists succeeded, for example, in developing a hopping structure that can overcome obstacles. The electrically conductive film determines its own body position through changes in resistance. The graphene oxide film thus combines sensing and actuation in one structure. The scientists state that the graphene oxide films are the first reconfigurable sensor-actuator metamaterials.
(olb)
