A Laser Thermal-Curing Printing: Integrating Fabrication, Reparability, Reconfigurability, and Reprogrammability for Magnetic Soft Robots

Untethered magnetic soft robots can broaden the working scenarios of robots and have numerous potential applications in space exploration, industry, and medicine. However, existing magnetic soft robots face challenges such as limited reparability, difficulty expanding functions, and difficulty adjusting motion mode. Herein, an efficient and comprehensive laser thermal-curing printing method is proposed for magnetic soft robots. In this method, the directionality and photothermal effect of the infrared laser and thermal-curing property of thermosetting resin are utilized to achieve efficient fabrication, precise repair, and seamless reconstruction of thermosetting resin-based magnetic soft robots. Besides, the method enables reprogrammability of magnetic soft robots by exploiting photothermal-induced demagnetization. Further, the laser thermal-curing printing method is applied to repair a gyro robot for controlled movement; to reconstruct an underwater robot for salvaging cargo, a robot for repairing electrical circuit, and a wheel robot with three-dimensional structure; and to reprogram the motion of a six-leaf magnetic soft robot. These applications demonstrate that the laser thermal-curing printing method achieves the integration of fabrication, reparability, reconfigurability, and reprogrammability for soft robot, which is expected to drive a paradigm shift in soft robotics manufacturing and provide a groundbreaking strategy for fabricating magnetic soft robots with complex structures.