American engineers have developed a two-centimeter soft robot capable of continuously jumping over complex terrain and swimming under infrared radiation.
Structurally, the robot is made in the form of a rod made from liquid crystal elastomer, which is coiled into a ring. Its ends are connected to form a V-shaped tail element.
When irradiated with infrared light, the material begins to heat up and twist. As soon as the deformation reaches a critical point, the tail strikes the surface, causing the robot to be ejected into the air.
During flight, the ring structure restores its original shape, and this process repeats automatically, requiring only the presence of light.
Detailed information about the functioning mechanism and the results of the tests conducted was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
