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Soft robots are being increasingly developed and deployed for underwater applications such as exploration, monitoring, and rescue owing to their innate compliance, mechanical and chemical stability, and waterproof properties. However, they are still predominantly manufactured using silicones and acrylic elastomers, which pose environmental risks due to their limited biodegradability. To tackle this issue, a method for manufacturing water‐resistant, liquid‐driven soft actuators made from a novel type of konjac glucomannan (KGM) is presented, which is plant‐derived, insoluble, and edible. The material offers impressive stretchability, reaching up to 67.2% of its initial length, surpassing previous related work, and withstands over a 1000 cycles of tensile stress. Using this material, we develop soft actuators that can bend up to 47.1°, and the maximum blocking force of 0.1 N is achieved with a pressure input of 20 kPa. A gripper that is capable of grasping various objects underwater is also evaluated. In essence, this article introduces a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional soft robotic materials, paving the way for innovative and eco‐conscious underwater applications. The utilization of edible, water‐resistant materials like konjac provides a promising solution to reduce pollution and mitigate negative environmental impacts associated with traditional underwater soft robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft robots are being increasingly developed and deployed for underwater applications such as exploration, monitoring, and rescue owing to their innate compliance, mechanical and chemical stability, and waterproof properties. However, they are still predominantly manufactured using silicones and acrylic elastomers, which pose environmental risks due to their limited biodegradability. To tackle this issue, a method for manufacturing water‐resistant, liquid‐driven soft actuators made from a novel type of konjac glucomannan (KGM) is presented, which is plant‐derived, insoluble, and edible. The material offers impressive stretchability, reaching up to 67.2% of its initial length, surpassing previous related work, and withstands over a 1000 cycles of tensile stress. Using this material, we develop soft actuators that can bend up to 47.1°, and the maximum blocking force of 0.1 N is achieved with a pressure input of 20 kPa. A gripper that is capable of grasping various objects underwater is also evaluated. In essence, this article introduces a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional soft robotic materials, paving the way for innovative and eco‐conscious underwater applications. The utilization of edible, water‐resistant materials like konjac provides a promising solution to reduce pollution and mitigate negative environmental impacts associated with traditional underwater soft robots.

Abstract Edible electronics leverages the electronic properties of food‐derived materials to deliver safer technologies that can be degraded (or digested) in the environment (or body) at the end‐of‐life. Sensors will be central to future smart edible robots, and edible strain sensors are particularly interesting as they can transduce deformation, providing real time feedback of the movement. Yet, to date edible strain sensors have been limited to the use of ionic conductive hydrogels, resulting in sensors not directly suitable for direct current operation and therefore not compatible with existing edible batteries. Here, the first edible strain sensor based on electronic conduction made of a novel conductive ink sprayed over an edible substrate is presented. The ink formulation consists of activated carbon (conductor), Haribo gummy bears (binder), and water−ethanol mixture (dispersant). The ink, deposited on multiple substrates by spray deposition, produces edible electrically conductive composite coatings with resistivity of ≈50 Ω cm. The coatings were used as a piezoresistive layer to fabricate strain sensors with gauge factors of 19−92 suitable for direct current operation. As a proof‐of‐concept of future edible systems, the sensor is validated by integrating it within a gelatin actuator to produce a sensorized gripper powered by an edible battery.

Abstract Edible electronics and robotics are emerging areas intimately bridging food science and engineering to deliver technology using food‐derived materials. Edible devices offer unprecedented opportunities thanks to features such as bioresorbability, nutritional value, associated taste, minimal toxicity, and sustainability. However, several challenges need to be addressed to bring edible devices closer to reality. Although prototypal edible sensors are available, rotation sensors—an essential component for orientation perception—are still missing. Integrating sensors, actuators, and structural components into an edible system also remains a challenge due to the lack of processes and standardization. Here the first edible tilt sensor is presented. Starting from a commercial nonedible bistable tilt sensor, each material is replaced with edible equivalents using simple and straightforward fabrication approaches. Its functionality is validated in the first implementation of an autonomous and partly edible rolling robot, which has a nutritional value of 807.5 kcal and integrates gelatin actuators, an array of tilt sensors, and an edible wheeled frame. The robot works in closed loop, perceiving its orientation and input for actuation from the sensors. These findings may pave the way to novel edible technologies, from drug delivery for wild animals to health applications.

The increasing impact of technology disposal and e-waste on the environment has driven robotics scientists to develop more sustainable robots. Biodegradable and edible shape-memory polymer artificial muscles represent an important robotic component that enables environmentally modulated deformation and movement. The need for finer behavioral control of artificial muscles also requires proprioceptive functionality. Here we report the first edible shape-memory oleogel composites that monolithically couple shape-memory actuation and color-change sensing within one material. The shape recovery and color change capabilities were characterized and two sustainable soft robots, a robotic gripper and a biomimetic flower, were constructed to demonstrate their potential for the development of sustainable and edible robotics.

The increasing impact of technology disposal and e-waste on the environment has driven robotics scientists to develop more sustainable robots. Biodegradable and edible shape-memory polymer artificial muscles represent an important robotic component that enables environmentally modulated deformation and movement. The need for finer behavioral control of artificial muscles also requires proprioceptive functionality. Here we report the first edible shape-memory oleogel composites that monolithically couple shape-memory actuation and color-change sensing within one material. The shape recovery and color change capabilities were characterized and two sustainable soft robots, a robotic gripper and a biomimetic flower, were constructed to demonstrate their potential for the development of sustainable and edible robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]