Skate Fin‐Mimetic Muscle‐Cartilage Structured Fabric Layer for Robust and Muti‐Function Actuation Systems

Abstract Actuators based on stimuli‐responsive polymers (SRP) have great potential applications in soft robots, remote control, artificial muscle, etc., but their practical robustness is usually limited by mechanical strength and environmental tolerance. Inspired by the unique “muscle‐cartilage” structure of Skate fin, a general strategy is developed for improving the mechanical strength and environmental tolerance of SRP actuators by introducing a twill cotton fabric as the supporting cartilage. Besides, benefiting from the special twill pattern and micro‐nano substructure of the fabric layer, the prepared SRP actuator possesses anisotropic actuation and fast wet recovery, which further enriches its versatility. This SRP actuator can be extended to complicated actuation systems with programmable motion series or cyclic task execution by simply heat‐soldering or assembling with other functional components. The method provides an idea in simultaneously addressing the practical robustness and rich extensibility of SRP actuators, facilitating their application in complex environments or multi‐tasking scenarios.