Specialty Fabrics Review October 2022 - 19

Twisted soft robots navigate
mazes independently
R
esearchers from North Carolina State University (NC State) and
the University of Pennsylvania have developed soft robots that
can navigate complex environments such as mazes without input
from humans or computer software.
" These soft robots demonstrate 'physical intelligence,' meaning
that structural design and smart materials are what allow the soft
robot to navigate various situations, as opposed to computational
intelligence, " says Jie Yin, corresponding author of a paper on the
work and associate professor at NC State.
The soft robots are made of liquid crystal elastomers in the shape
of a twisted ribbon. When the ribbon is placed on a surface that is at
least 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit), which is hotter
than the ambient air, the portion of the ribbon touching the surface
contracts, while the portion of the ribbon exposed to the air does not.
This induces a rolling motion in the ribbon.
" This provides new insights into how we can design soft robots that
are capable of harvesting heat energy from natural environments
and autonomously negotiating complex, unstructured settings such
as roads and harsh deserts, " Yin says. Photo: Jie Yin.
Blizzbrush cleans
teeth in seconds
he Blizzbrush 5.0 ToothbrushSponge
is an example of a radical
change in application using a relatively
common material. The new toothbrush
design conceived by Chris Martin
is meant to optimize tooth-cleaning
efficiency, cleaning all over the mouth
in just a few seconds by simply biting
and grinding on the small, silicone
sponge brush. The new category of mouthpiece brushes follows ten
years of experimentation, development and manufacturing of high-tech
tooth-cleaning tools. In 2019, the tailored 3D printed design concept of
Blizzbrush 5.0 Toothbrush-Sponge was optimized, introducing a 100
percent recyclable and antimicrobial sponge. The product has been
tested and approved by dentists for its optimal cleaning technique
and cleaning results. Photo: Chris Martin.
T
Self-powered smart
pillow tracks sleep
M
any people who struggle to get
enough sleep could benefit
from monitoring their sleep, but they
have limited options for doing so. In a
new study in ACS Applied Materials &
Interfaces, a research team describes
a potential solution: a self-powering
smart pillow that tracks the position
of the head. Chinese scientists Ding Li,
Zhong Lin Wang and colleagues sought to
adapt current sleep monitoring systems
that use triboelectric nanogenerators
(TENGs) to create a less restrictive, more
comfortable version.
To construct their new smart pillow,
the researchers formulated a flexible,
porous polymer triboelectric layer.
Movement between the head and this
layer changes the electric field around
nearby electrodes, generating a current.
They strung together several selfpowering
sensors to create a flexible and
breathable TENG (FB-TENG) array that
can be placed atop an ordinary pillow.
Photo: American Chemical Society.
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Specialty Fabrics Review October 2022

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