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Electro-mechano responsive elastomers with self-tunable conductivity and stiffness.

Guolin YunTim ColeYuxin ZhangJiahao ZhengShuaishuai SunYiming Ou-YangJian ShuHongda LuQingtian ZhangYongjing WangDuc Truong PhamTawfique HasanWeihua LiShiwu ZhangShi-Yang Tang
Published in: Science advances (2023)
Materials with programmable conductivity and stiffness offer new design opportunities for next-generation engineered systems in soft robotics and electronic devices. However, existing approaches fail to harness variable electrical and mechanical properties synergistically and lack the ability to self-respond to environmental changes. We report an electro-mechano responsive Field's metal hybrid elastomer exhibiting variable and tunable conductivity, strain sensitivity, and stiffness. By synergistically harnessing these properties, we demonstrate two applications with over an order of magnitude performance improvement compared to state-of-the-art, including a self-triggered multiaxis compliance compensator for robotic manipulators, and a resettable, highly compact, and fast current-limiting fuse with an adjustable fusing current. We envisage that the extraordinary electromechanical properties of our hybrid elastomer will bring substantial advancements in resilient robotic systems, intelligent instruments, and flexible electronics.
Keyphrases
  • minimally invasive
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  • robot assisted
  • high speed
  • energy transfer
  • big data
  • risk assessment
  • climate change
  • human health
  • machine learning
  • deep learning
  • life cycle
  • solid state