What happens to soft matter when gravity disappears? To answer this, UvA physicists launched a fluid dynamics experiment on a sounding rocket. The suborbital rocket reached an altitude of 267 km ...

The mechanics behind the collapse of soft materials structure have befuddled researchers for decades. In a new study, researchers uncover a metric that finally correlates microscopic-level processes ...

Scientists who want to build robots from soft materials have long favored hydrogels to serve as artificial muscles in the machines. But these materials usually can’t muster the strength of real ...

Plants and animals can rapidly respond to changes in their environment, such as a Venus flytrap snapping shut when a fly touches it. However, replicating similar actions in soft robots requires ...

Superhumans don’t exist in the real world, but someday you might see super robots. Obviously, robots can be made that are stronger, faster, and better than humans, but do you think there is a limit to ...

Northwestern Engineering researchers have developed a theoretical model to design soft materials that demonstrate autonomous oscillating properties that mimic biological functions. The work could ...

UCLA researchers have engineered a new material that can create robots more similar to living organisms. In a study published June 17, researchers from the He Lab at UCLA developed a material that ...

A ring of beads connected to tentacles A modeling study shows how chemical reactions can stimulate motion in simple systems, like the structure here—made of enzyme coated beads connected to ...

Soft materials are a type of material that can be easily bent, compressed, or indented with minimal force. They are widely used in everyday items such as toothpaste and lotions, and play critical ...