Smart soft materials are envisioned to be the building blocks of the next generation of
advanced devices and digitally augmented technologies. In this context, liquid crystals (LCs) …

In contrast to conventional hard actuators, soft actuators offer many vivid advantages, such
as improved flexibility, adaptability, and reconfigurability, which are intrinsic to living …

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are renowned for their large, reversible, and anisotropic
shape change in response to various external stimuli due to their lightly cross‐linked …

Direct ink writing of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) offers a new opportunity to program
geometries for a wide variety of shape transformation modes toward applications such as …

Recent years have seen major advances in the developments of both additive
manufacturing concepts and responsive materials. When combined as 4D printing, the …

Abstract Interest in 3D (3-dimensional) printed optics and photonics by both industry and
academic researchers is burgeoning, due to the unique features availed by 3D printing not …

Real-time monitoring of strain/stress in polymers is a big challenge to date. Herein, we for
the first time report an ESIPT (excited-state intramolecular proton transfer)-based …

Soft actuators that undergo programmable shape change in response to a stimulus are
enabling components of future soft robots and other soft machines. Strategies to power …

Abstract 4D printing is a result of 3D printing of smart materials which respond to diverse
stimuli to produce novel products. 4D printing has been applied successfully to many fields …

Abstract 4D printing was initially defined as multi-material 3D printing that can produce pre-
programmed shape changes under external stimuli over time. Thus extensive research …