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Light-Controlled Gel Could Benefit Soft Robots

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BERKELEY, Calif., June 4, 2013 — Inspired by the way plants grow toward light sources, bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, created a hydrogel that flexes in response to near-IR laser light. The achievement could be a step towardadding softness and flexibility to robotics. “Shape-changing gels such as ours could have applications for drug delivery and tissue engineering,” said principal investigator Seung-Wuk Lee, associate professor of bioengineering. The material could also have future applications in the emerging field of soft robotics, which takes a cue from some of nature’s...Read full article

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    Published: June 2013
    Glossary
    actuator
    Mechanical device intended for the translation (rotational and linear) using high precision control from electronically operated circuits. See linear actuator; rotary actuator.
    hydrogel
    A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for water. This network structure allows hydrogels to absorb and retain large amounts of water while maintaining their structural integrity. Hydrogels are often soft and flexible, resembling natural tissues, which makes them useful in various biomedical, pharmaceutical, and engineering applications. Hydrogels can be synthesized from natural or synthetic polymers. Natural...
    nano
    An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other structures and particles on the nanometer scale. Nano-optics (also referred to as nanophotonics), for example, is the study of how light and light-matter interactions behave on the nanometer scale. See nanophotonics.
    actuatorAmericasBerkeleybioengineeringBiophotonicsCaliforniadrug deliverygraphenehydrogellight-activatedlight-controlled gelMaterials & ChemicalsnanoNano LettersnanocompositeOpticsResearch & TechnologySeung-Wuk Leesoft roboticstissue engineeringUniversity of California

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