Electronics
SAXS measurements of azobenzene lipid vesicles reveal buffer-dependent photoswitching and quantitative Z->E isomerisation by X-rays
SAXS shows that azobenzene lipid membranes undergo buffer-dependent photoswitching, enabling quantitative Z→E isomerisation measurements during soft X-ray exposure.
Gait learning for soft microrobots controlled by light fields
A Bayesian optimization + Gaussian-process learning scheme enables light-controlled soft microrobots to optimize and adapt gaits with few experiments and robustness across microrobot samples.
A Review of Machine Learning Applications in Mechanical Metamaterial Design
The review summarizes how machine learning models and end-to-end workflows can accelerate mechanical metamaterial design and property prediction using simulation-based validation.
Scientists discover a strange property in rice and turn it into a smart material
A rice-derived, pressure-rate-dependent effect was used to engineer a material that automatically adapts stiffness to distinguish gentle motion from sudden impacts.
Heat breaks the rules at the nanoscale and scientists used it to their advantage
Nanoscale gold metamaterials can boost heat transfer across tiny gaps by up to 4×, enabling more efficient thermal management and precision heat engineering.
Light-activated gel could impact wearables, soft robotics, and more
A light-activated, biocompatible soft gel is reported to dramatically change its conductivity, supporting ionotronics-style interfaces for wearables and soft robotics.
Multimaterial 4D printing of adaptive and reconfigurable auxetic metastructures
Multimaterial 4D printing with PLA/PCL enables auxetic metastructures whose geometry–material coupling yields tunable mechanics, energy absorption, and thermally induced reconfigurability.
HVAF Spraying of NiTi Coatings: Microstructure, Phase Transformation and Shape Memory Behavior
HVAF spraying enables thick (100–300 µm) NiTi shape-memory alloy coatings on mild steel that can undergo martensitic transformation and exhibit thermal actuation and shape memory effects after annealing.
An Autonomous Subgram SMA-Based Swimmer
Swima is a bioinspired subgram microswimmer using onboard-powered SMA-wire actuators and computation to achieve autonomous swimming with measured speed, turning, and trajectory tracking.
3D printing on pre-stressed textiles: peel test evaluation of adhesion factors in 4D textiles
A factorial study identifies printing and pre-tension parameters that maximize peel-test adhesion between 3D-printed reinforcements and pre-stressed textile substrates in 4D textiles.
Thermo-mechanically coupled phase-field fracture model considering elastocaloric effect of shape memory alloy
A coupled phase-field fracture model for Mn-Cu shape memory alloys incorporates elastocaloric thermal strain from martensitic transformation to simulate crack growth and thermally assisted toughening.
Vision-assisted 4D printing of a silicone gripper with integrated sensors and high energy density actuators
A vision-guided, one-shot DIW process embeds a strain sensor and coiled SMA actuator into a silicone gripper to enable closed-loop, energy-efficient 4D morphing for real tasks.
3D Finite Element-Based Multiphysics Simulation of a Shape Memory Alloy Hybrid Composite Module
A coupled 3D ANSYS LS-DYNA multiphysics model for SMA hybrid composite actuators captures thermomechanical phase transformation and reproduces temperature-dependent hysteresis with experimental validation.
Additively manufactured Shape Memory Alloy Hybrid Composites with a polymer matrix featuring a re-entrant honeycomb structure
A fully additive SLA+TFP route fabricates SMA hybrid composites with a re-entrant honeycomb polymer structure, enabling geometry-tuned, thermally activated out-of-plane bending with improved reproducibility via automated SMA placement.
Transformation front kinetics in deformable ferromagnets
A continuum magneto-mechanical framework is developed to derive thermodynamic driving forces and efficiently model transformation-front kinetics in deformable ferromagnets and magnetic shape-memory alloys.
Rotary 4D Printing of Programmable Metamaterials on Sustainable 4D Mandrel
A rotary 4D printing workflow fabricates modular, multi-material programmable mechanical metamaterials on a shape-morphing mandrel, enabling programmable stiffness and multi-DOF shape recovery.
Variational phase-field modeling of fracture and fatigue in shape memory alloys: a one-dimensional study
A new 1D variational phase-field model links SMA phase transformation and damage to reproduce distinctive fracture localization and fatigue trends in Ni-Ti multi-wire samples.
Fundamentals and Uses of 4D Printing on Textiles
This review summarizes how 4D printing of smart, stimuli-responsive polymers on textiles can enable fabrics that change shape or properties for intelligent adaptive textile systems.
Thermoelastic wave-based logic for mechanically cognitive materials
Wave-scattering mechanical logic gates are built from metamaterial cells with shape-memory-alloy mechanical memory that reconfigures via thermal activation, demonstrated with measured wavefields.
4D Printing with Liquid Crystal Elastomers: Materials, Methods, and Emerging Applications
A review summarizes how 4D printing of liquid crystal elastomers enables programmable, reversible shape changes and surveys fabrication methods, integrations, and remaining challenges.
Comparison of derivative-free and gradient-based minimization for multi-objective compositional design of shape memory alloys
Using physics-informed ML surrogates and optimization, gradient-based TRUST-CONSTR paired with a neural network more consistently finds SMA compositions that balance martensitic start temperature and cost than derivative-free COBYLA.
Generative Inversion for Property-Targeted Materials Design: Application to Shape Memory Alloys
A GAN-inversion framework coupled with property prediction enables property-targeted inverse design of high-performance NiTi-based shape memory alloys, validated by experimental synthesis.
FUTURE OF 4D PRINTING IN SOFT ROBOTICS AND INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION
A 2015–2025 review synthesizes how 4D printing with stimulus-responsive materials enables programmable, adaptive soft robotics and intelligent automation, while highlighting remaining barriers to translation.
Study on vertical printing of thermally driven PLA actuators: residual stress modulation in FDM-based 4D printing
Vertical thermally driven PLA 4D printing can modulate residual stress via nozzle temperature and printing speed, enabling controlled multi-level bending in a fabricated thermally responsive fan-blade structure.