3D‐Printed Dynamic Liquid Crystal Elastomer Composites with Adaptive Reconfiguration Showing Multimodal, Light‐Driven, Strider‐Inspired Locomotion at the Air–Water Interface

Abstract

ABSTRACT Inspired by the environment‐adaptive behaviors of water striders, we 3D‐printed a light‐driven liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) swimming robot, OptiLCE Strider, capable of multimodal locomotion and adaptive reconfiguration at the air–water interface. Utilizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as photothermal fillers and dynamic disulfide bonds for shape reconfigurability, the robot exhibits three distinct propulsion modes: Marangoni‐effect‐driven continuous motion under low light intensity (1.3–7.2 mm s − 1 ), steam‐wave‐induced pulsatile locomotion under high light intensity (12.5–16.8 mm s − 1 ), and flapping propulsion enabled by reversible LCE deformation (4.6–6.9 mm s − 1 ). The dynamic disulfide bonds enable exceptional structural reconfigurability and environmental adaptability for the LCE robot to execute complex tasks, including maze navigation, cargo capture/transport, programmable rotation, and light‐powered jumping (escape from grounded or obstructed states via actuation energy storage/release, with jumping height/distance 6×/3.3× the robot length). The qualitative phase map guides locomotion mode selection, while energetic cost analysis reveals a clear force‐efficiency trade off among the three modes, guiding application specific selection. This study highlights the potential of dynamic LCE‐based robots for intelligent systems in liquid interface environments, paving the way for versatile applications in soft robotics and biomimetic engineering.