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Watch a Möbius strip robot move and climb when hit by light

When light strikes a soft robot made from a twisted strip of hydrogel sheets, it moves in a predictable way and can climb a vertical rod or haul up a load

By Alex Wilkins

13 May 2024

A soft robot shaped like a Möbius strip can move when activated by light, and could be used to transport medicine and collect samples inside the body.

Zi Liang Wu at Zhejiang University in China and his colleagues created their strips from thin sheets of hydrogels, materials made from long chain-like polymer molecules linked together by water molecules. They made the strips into unusual shapes, such as a Möbius strip – a one-sided surface that results from a band with a twist in it – or a similar curved surface called a Seifert ribbon.

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