Mechanical stress soft/ hard discontinuities overcome for more durable soft robotics, exoskeletons, and bio-integrated medical implants


"adds trace amounts of nickel, copper, or zinc ions to chitosan, a chitin derivative... programs precise high rigidity zones alongside soft, flexible regions within continuous sheet, mimicking insect exoskeletons' chitin structure alteration using metal-ion cross-linking... origami-inspired prototype folds/ unfolds without glues, seams, or separate mechanical components... seamless gradients within 1 underlying biopolymer, so can be composted/ recycled as single unit without tedious disassembly/ sorting"

Related: Flexible mm-thick motor, 2 nested fibers wrapped with electrodes, can drive soft robotics
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1146603

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