- Zhu, Shipei;
- Cui, Huanqing;
- Pan, Yi;
- Popple, Derek;
- Xie, Ganhua;
- Fink, Zachary;
- Han, Jiale;
- Zettl, Alex;
- Shum, Ho Cheung;
- Russell, Thomas P
It remains a challenge to produce soft robots that can mimic the responsive adaptability of living organisms. Rather than fabricating soft robots from bulk hydrogels,hydrogels are integrated into the interfacial assembly of aqueous two-phase systems to generate ultra-soft and elastic all-aqueous aquabots that exhibit responsive adaptability, that can shrink on demand and have electrically conductive functions. The adaptive functions of the aquabots provide a new platform to develop minimally invasive surgical devices, targeted drug delivery systems, and flexible electronic sensors and actuators.