Nature’s blueprint for the human limb is a carefully layered structure with stiff bone wrapped in layers of different soft tissue, like muscle and skin, all bound to each other perfectly. Achieving this kind of sophistication using synthetic materials to build biologically inspired robotic parts or multicomponent, complex machines has been an engineering challenge.
By tweaking the chemistry of a single polymer, researchers at Texas A&M University and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory have created a whole family of synthetic materials that range in texture from ultra-soft to extremely rigid. The researchers said their materials are 3D printable, self-healing, recyclable and they naturally adhere to each other in air or underwater.
“We have made an exciting group of materials whose properties can be fine-tuned to get either the softness of rubber or the strength of load-bearing plastics,” said Dr. Svetlana Sukhishvili, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and a corresponding author on the study. “Their other desirable characteristics, like 3D printability and the ability to self-heal within seconds, make them suited for not just more realistic prosthetics and soft robotics, but also ideal for broad military applications such as agile platforms for air vehicles and futuristic self-healing aircraft wings.”
This research is funded by the United States Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory