All-in-One Design of Soft Machines

In our world filled with human innovation and technology we hardly scratch the surface of what has been formed in nature. In particular, the use of soft structures to accomplish complex tasks is still primarily the handiwork of biology. To bridge the gap on nature, we introduce an all-in-one approach to building soft machines. Using the powerful rules of fluid mechanics and silicone elastomers, fluid-mediated networks can be "frozen'" to provide unique functional materials Instead of relying on the assembly of individual parts, our approach harnesses interfacial flows to robustly produce monolithic pneumatic actuators whose shape can easily be tailored depending on the intended application. While our methodology enables the rapid assembly of classic soft robots, e.g. grippers, and their programming, e.g. sequential motion following a monotonic stimulus, it also paves the way towards new possibilities, e.g. the fabrication of vascular structures.