Despite the prevalence of synthetic materials across different industries and scientific fields, most are developed to serve a limited set of functions. To address this inflexibility, researchers at ...

The researchers turned to hydrogels, which are water-rich, jelly-like polymers that respond to temperature and chemicals. But instead of layering different materials or embedding electronics, they ...

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara and TU Dresden are blurring the lines between robotics and materials, with a proof-of-concept material-like collective of robots with behaviors inspired by biology. Of ...

Stimulus sensitivity: They contain specific responsive groups that react to external triggers such as heat, light, mechanical stress, electric and magnetic fields, gases, pH, or particular chemicals.

Researchers are blurring the lines between robotics and materials, with a proof-of-concept material-like collective of robots with behaviors inspired by biology. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara and TU ...