Somatosensory Electro‐Thermal Actuator through the Laser‐Induced Graphene Technology

Abstract

The biological system realizes the unity of action and perception through the muscle tissue and nervous system. Correspondingly, artificial soft actuators realize the unity of sensing and actuating functions in a single functional material, which will have tremendous potential for developing intelligent and bionic soft robotics. This paper reports the design of a laser‐induced graphene (LIG) electrothermal actuator with self‐sensing capability. LIG, a functional material formed by a one‐step direct‐write lasing procedure under ambient air, is used as electrothermal conversion materials and piezoresistive sensing materials. By transferring LIG to a flexible silicone substrate, the design ability of the LIG‐based actuator unit is enriched, along with an effectively improved sensing sensitivity. Through the integration of different types of well‐designed LIG‐based actuator units, the transformations from multidimensional precursors to 2D and 3D structures are realized. According to the piezoresistive effect of the LIG units during the deformation process, the visual synchronous deformation state feedback of the LIG‐based actuator is proposed. The multimodal crawling soft robotics and the switchable electromagnetic shielding cloak serve as the demonstrations of the self‐sensing LIG‐based actuator, showing the advantage of the design in remote control of the soft robot without relying on the assistance of visual devices.

Flexible Grid Graphene Electrothermal Films for Real-Time Monitoring Applications

“…The transfer process does not involve wet chemical steps, minimizing graphene contamination. The resulting LIG has excellent performance, and its unique porous structure allows the material to maintain sufficiently high electron mobility and mechanical stability while having a large specific surface area. , LIG has become a powerful tool for developing various graphene-based electronic devices. − In terms of electrothermal applications, LIG technology also shows great potential and advantages, such as deicing, , electrothermal actuators, electromagnetic shielding, and antimicrobials . For example, Niu et al prepared a superhydrophobic electrothermal laminating coating based on LIG, which has excellent anti-/deicing performance .…”

“…For example, Niu et al prepared a superhydrophobic electrothermal laminating coating based on LIG, which has excellent anti-/deicing performance . Wang et al designed a self-induced electrothermal actuator based on LIG applied to a multimodal crawling soft robot and electromagnetic shielding . Sharma and Arnusch prepared LIG composite adhesive tape with excellent electro-photothermal heating and antimicrobial capabilities .…”