Liquid Crystalline Elastomers in Soft Robotics: Assessing Promise and Limitations | CU Experts

Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) are soft, anisotropic polymer networks capable of programmable, reversible shape change in response to stimuli such as heat, light, or electric fields. Originally proposed as artificial muscles due to their ability to translate molecular orientation into mechanical motion, LCEs predate the modern field of soft robotics and continue to remain a promising but not yet widely integrated component of robotic systems. Their potential has been illustrated in a range of demonstrations, including multimodal locomotion and shape‐morphing architectures. However, LCEs remain largely unproven in fully integrated robotic platforms. This perspective evaluates both the potential and limitations of LCEs as actuating materials in soft robotics. We outline the fundamental mechanisms that govern their behavior, compare their performance with other actuator classes, and highlight recent advances. Further, we identify enduring challenges, such as actuation speed and integration complexity, that currently limit broader deployment. We frame these challenges as open scientific questions to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and support the development of materials‐enabled strategies for soft actuation.

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