Asymmetric Braided Artificial Muscles with Precise Electrothermal Actuation Control Enabled by Deep Learning.

Journal: ACS applied materials & interfaces
Published Date: May 30, 2025

Abstract

Liquid crystal elastomers show promise for artificial muscles, but challenges remain in achieving excellent actuation performance and controllability under diverse operational conditions. This study presents a novel asymmetric braiding method using a Maypole braiding machine to integrate carbon nanotube yarns with liquid crystal elastomer fibers, producing an electrothermal fiber-shaped actuator. The actuator demonstrates exceptional performance in both air and water. In air, the actuator lifts 261 times its own weight (0.17 MPa) within 2.5 s, achieving a 45% contraction with a strain rate of 18%·s. Underwater, it reaches a 32% contraction within 3 s. To enhance controllability under diverse conditions, a long short-term memory (LSTM) model was proposed and applied, accurately predicting actuation strain with a coefficient of determination () of 0.994. Applications in a music robot and underwater claw highlight its potential for flexible robotics, validating its advantages in programmable control, rapid response, and adaptability across environments.

Authors

  • Wendi Wang
    School of Communications and Information Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, 400065, China.
  • Syed Rashedul Islam
    Department of Textile Engineering, Uttara University, Dhaka 1230, Bangladesh.
  • Xuan Wang
    Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, TX, USA.
  • Ye Zhang
    Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
  • Yichen Yao
    State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
  • Chenglong Zhang
    School of Mechanical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250300, China.
  • Guangwei Shao
    State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
  • Siyi Bi
    State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
  • Jinhua Jiang
    Engineering Research Center of Technical Textile, Ministry of Education, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
  • Nanliang Chen
    Engineering Research Center of Technical Textile, Ministry of Education, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
  • John D W Madden
    Electrical and Computer Engineering, Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada. jmadden@ece.ubc.ca.
  • Huiqi Shao
    Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.

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