Bioinspired Light-Driven Soft Robots by a Facile Two-Mode Laser Engraving and Cutting Process

We present a light-driven soft robot fabricated by a facile, two-mode laser engraving and cutting process to emulate the crawling motion of inchworm. A porous laser-induced graphene layer is introduced as both a pliable photothermal absorber and a faster heat dissipation material through its high specific surface area. The robot structure is defined and cut via a laser cutting operation, which is very easy to implement to make complex structures. Continuous robot motion of the prototype soft robots under light stimulation has achieved a speed of ∼26 mm/min and a cooling process of 5 s. We envision this fabrication approach and operation principle can be extended as a tool for the advancements of the developing soft robots.