Robotics
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.
Reprogrammable metamaterial robot with embodied versatile computation and mechanical intelligence
A reprogrammable metamaterial robot is presented as combining versatile computation with mechanical intelligence.
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.
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.
Mechanical analysis of composite leaf springs made by 4D printing method
4DPC composite leaf springs curl from a flat layup into a curved beam, and residual stresses at the 90° layer surface reduce tensile loading enough to improve fatigue resistance.
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.
DiffeoMorph: Learning to Morph 3D Shapes Using Differentiable Agent-Based Simulations
DiffeoMorph is an end-to-end differentiable method that learns agent-based morphogenesis rules to transform minimally patterned starts into target 3D shapes using an invariant Zernike-based shape-matching loss.
Recent progress in 4D printing: materials, methods and applications
This review synthesizes how 4D printing couples additive methods with stimulus-responsive materials—especially shape-memory polymers—to achieve programmed, time-dependent shape and property changes, while noting reliability and scalability
4D printing for crack trapping and adaptive damage-tolerant structures
A review synthesizes how 4D printing can enable crack trapping and damage-tolerant behavior through smart, metamaterial-based self-sensing and time-dependent shape change.
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.
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.
Tile Reconfiguration by a Finite Automaton
A deterministic finite-automaton agent can reconfigure passive tiles on a triangular lattice to form specified target shapes, with worst-case optimal and polynomial-time algorithms.
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.
4D printed hydromorph biocomposites with shape change and force generation properties: progress towards structural actuation
4D-printed flax/PLA hydromorph biocomposites can be tuned to deliver water-driven shape change with blocked force and energy density comparable to wood, supporting structural actuation design.
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.
Design and Modeling of a Simple-Structured Continuously Variable Transmission Utilizing Shape Memory Alloy Superelasticity for Twisted String Actuator
A simple CVT for twisted string actuators is proposed using two superelastic SMA rods whose load-dependent deformation enables continuous transmission-ratio variation.
Design, modelling and experimental validation of bipenniform shape memory alloy-based linear actuator integrable with hydraulic stroke amplification mechanism
A bio-inspired bipenniform SMA coil linear actuator is modelled and experimentally validated, achieving 257 N at 15 V and reduced drive mechanism weight and energy versus a stepper motor benchmark.
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.
Force Characterization of Insect-Scale Aquatic Propulsion Based on Fluid-Structure Interaction
Insect-scale microrobotic swimmers with SMA-driven soft tails are force-characterized, yielding first instantaneous thrust measurements linked to fluid-structure interaction.
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.
Feedback Control of a Single-Tail Bioinspired 59-mg Swimmer
An evolved FRISSHBot swimmer uses an SMA-based bimorph actuator and physics-informed design to enable feedback-controlled 2D trajectory tracking at subgram scale.
A 21-DOF Humanoid Dexterous Hand with Hybrid SMA-Motor Actuation: CYJ Hand-0
CYJ Hand-0 is a 21-DOF dexterous humanoid hand that uses SMA-based actuation for finger extension and lateral abduction alongside DC motor-driven flexion, validated by mechanical and kinematic experiments.
A Soft Robotic Module with Pneumatic Actuation and Enhanced Controllability Using a Shape Memory Alloy Wire
Embedding an SMA wire into a pneumatic soft robotic bending module enables more precise, faster closed-loop control of bending angle with lower working pressure.
Programmable Telescopic Soft Pneumatic Actuators for Deployable and Shape Morphing Soft Robots
Programmable Telescopic Soft Pneumatic Actuators (PTSPAs) use a parameterized geometry generator and systematic parameter exploration to enable deployable, shape-morphing soft robot locomotion in confined spaces.