Soft robotic reinforced by carbon fiber skeleton with large deformation and enhanced blocking forces

Abstract Soft robotics have attracted wide attention due to the potential applications in smart systems, wearable devices, etc. However, it still remains a long-term challenge in high actuation performance, especially in large, reversible deformation and large force output. Herein, inspired by the biological skeleton, carbon fiber skeleton strategy is proposed to enhance the strength and electric-triggered performance of the thin-film actuator. The skeletal actuators are fabricated based on graphene/PI composite “muscle” integrated with carbon fibers “skeleton”. Benefiting from the skeleton, the proposed skeletal actuator can obtain a large bending angle of 112° and blocking force of 7.5 mN (10.3 times its weight) under the driving voltage 6 V, while the non-skeletal actuator could only exhibit 47° and 1.86 mN (2.9 times its weight) under the same condition. Furthermore, a simple gripper, a self-walking robot, and two types of weightlifters are presented based on skeletal actuators, demonstrating the widely potential applications in soft robotics.