Natural scale caterpillar soft robot is powered and controlled with light

Researchers, using the liquid crystal elastomer technology have demonstrated a bioinspired micro-robot capable of mimicking caterpillar gaits in natural scale. The 15-millimeter long soft robot harvests energy from green light and is controlled by spatially modulated laser beam. Apart from traveling on flat surfaces, it can also climb slopes, squeeze through narrow slits and transport loads. …read more