Work

Adaptive dual-programming magnetic soft robot with lifelike behavior

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Magnetic soft robots with embodied intelligence of multimodal motions, environmental perception, and functional decoupling depend on ingenious material arrangement and programmable morphing information introduction. While some efforts have been made, achieving lifelike behaviors for soft robots in system-level strategy remains a notable challenge. Here, we present dual-programming hydrogel-based soft robots (DHSRs) that couple magnetic and anisotropic programming through the spatial arrangement of patterned magnetic skeletons into responsive and structural hydrogel bodies. These DHSRs exhibit programmable exquisite and multicurved structures in three-dimensional (3D) space, environment-adaptive deformation behaviors proved by switching from random jumping on land to regular swimming in water of a fish-like soft robot, and further locomotion-function decoupling capabilities of region-selective cargo delivery in an integrated "locomotion-perception-action" workflow. Our strategy in biomedical potential is exemplified by a ring-like pH-responsive DHSR for gastric ulcer therapy, which integrates multimodal locomotion (rolling, tumbling, and rotating), adaptive matching, and microneedle-mediated penetration. By collaborating with a capsule endoscopy system, we explore the possibility of a wireless and painless diagnostic-therapeutic platform in a pig model. This strategy endows the robot with perception and multitask execution capabilities, highlighting a promising route for the intelligent evolution of soft robots across diverse application domains.

Source: Science Advances

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aeh1001