Soft crawling robots inspired by invertebrate reptiles: Fabricated with PNIPAM/MWCNTs composite hydrogel and driven by near-infrared light for multi-directional locomotion

Bioinspired crawling robots fabricated from flexible materials have received considerable attention in recent years. However, existing solutions for crawling robots capable of multi-directional locomotion primarily focus on the complex driving mode. This study explores invertebrate reptiles inspired soft crawling robots driven by near-infrared (NIR) light. A composite hydrogel with excellent photo-responsive properties is prepared by ingeniously combining poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The crawling robot, when driven by NIR light, achieves an average speed of 0.17 mm/s. It can perform complex tasks such as crawling along a predefined trajectory, crossing obstacles, and traversing mazes via remote control with NIR light. This design holds significant significance for advancing flexible crawling robots and provides valuable insights for the research of bionic robots driven by NIR light.