UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Despite the prevalence of synthetic materials across different industries and scientific fields, most are developed to serve a limited set of functions. To address this ...

Researchers are blurring the lines between robotics and materials, with a proof-of-concept material-like collective of robots with behaviors inspired by biology. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara and TU ...

Early smart materials were typically amorphous polymers, hydrogels, or liquid crystalline systems with randomly distributed responsive groups, which limited response speed, energy efficiency, and the ...

Smart or intelligent materials possess unique capabilities, such as self-adaptability, memory, self-sensing, and multi-functionality, making them attractive across many industries, including aerospace ...