Vine-inspired soft robot grows its way through arteries, jet engines

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a novel soft robotic vine equipped with a thin liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) skin that enables it to navigate extremely tight and delicate environments, such as human arteries and jet engine interiors. This vine-like robot, only a few millimeters wide, grows from its tip by everting its skin, allowing it to advance without dragging against surfaces. By integrating tiny, flexible heaters beneath the LCE actuators and precisely controlling internal pressure and temperature, the robot can be steered through complex paths, making multiple sharp turns and squeezing through gaps half its diameter. The technology has promising applications in minimally invasive medical procedures, such as navigating blood vessels, and in industrial inspections, exemplified by the robot’s successful maneuvering inside a jet engine model equipped with a miniature camera. Beyond these uses, the soft skin design could be adapted for wearable haptic devices, soft grippers, and other soft robotic systems. Future developments aim to make the robot remote-controlled or