SELF-HEALING FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR INTELLIGENT ROBOTICS

Abstract

Functional materials are vital as the hardware foundations of intelligent robotics; developing polymeric functional materials is especially crucial for flexible intelligent robotic devices (e.g., electronic skins). Meanwhile, self-healing capability enhances the device durability and is easier to be achieved in polymers. This thesis first reviews the current research on self-healing materials and electronic skins (e-skins), then presents two self-healing functional materials as e-skins, and ends up with an outlook of future work. We first fabricate a gel-like, aquatic, stretchable and self-healing electronic skin (GLASSES) from the fluoropolymer and ionic liquid. The self-healing mechanism and gel performances are also discussed, followed by the exploration of the robotics applications. Then we describe a self-healing artificially innervated foam (AiFoam) electronic skin with three-dimensional electrodes. Our e-skin detects both normal force and shear force with piezo-impedance responses; it senses proximity as well. We finally demonstrate the AiFoam applications for intelligent robotics.