Phototunable self-oscillating system driven by a self-winding fiber actuator

• Published in: Nature communications 2021-05, Vol.12 (1), p.3211-3211, Article 3211
• Main Authors: Hu, Zhiming, Li, Yunlong, Lv, Jiu-an
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/301/1005/1006; 639/301/923/1028; 639/638/298/923/1028; Actuators; Behavior; Biomedical materials; Deformation; Degrees of freedom; Design; Equilibrium; Evolution; Gels; Humanities and Social Sciences; Liquid crystal polymers; Liquid crystals; multidisciplinary; Oscillation modes; Oscillations; Polymers; Robotics; Robustness; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Stability; Winding
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23562-6

Self-oscillating systems that enable autonomous, continuous motions driven by an unchanging, constant stimulus would have significant applications in intelligent machines, advanced robotics, and biomedical devices. Despite efforts to gain self-oscillations have been made through artificial systems using responsive soft materials of gels or liquid crystal polymers, these systems are plagued with problems that restrict their practical applicability: few available oscillation modes due to limited degrees of freedom, inability to control the evolution between different modes, and failure under loading. Here we create a phototunable self-oscillating system that possesses a broad range of oscillation modes, controllable evolution between diverse modes, and loading capability. This self-oscillating system is driven by a photoactive self-winding fiber actuator designed and prepared through a twistless strategy inspired by the helix formation of plant-tendrils, which endows the system with high degrees of freedom. It enables not only controllable generation of three basic self-oscillations but also production of diverse complex oscillatory motions. Moreover, it can work continuously over 1270000 cycles without obvious fatigue, exhibiting high robustness. We envision that this system with controllable self-oscillations, loading capability, and mechanical robustness will be useful in autonomous, self-sustained machines and devices with the core feature of photo-mechanical transduction. Self-oscillating systems that enable autonomous motions driven by a constant stimulus find applications in numerous fields but these systems are plagued with problems that restrict their practical applicability. Here, the authors create a photoactive self-winding fiber actuator that possesses a broad range of oscillation modes, controllable evolution between diverse modes, and loading capability.