Every day, 3D printing technology adds new advances to the scientific realm. During this period of Science and Technology, Southern University created a new development in 3D printing technology.
Researchers were successful in using 3D printing to create flexible and elastic light-emitting devices that may be combined with soft robots.
This discovery is exhibited in the form of a soft robot that can change color to fit its surroundings, and it may contribute to the development of next-generation smart displays, wearable electronics, and artificial camouflage.
A novel way to manufacturing
Producing flexible electronics requires expensive instruments and numerous scientific stages. As a result, an easy and versatile fabrication technique is required to meet the growing need for flexible electroluminescence devices in technical and optical applications.
Ji Liu and colleagues present a method for constructing flexible electroluminescence devices using multi-material 3D printing. They created 3D-printable ion conducting, electroluminescent, and insulating inks that might be used to manufacture simple, on-demand, flexible, and stretchable electroluminescent devices.
Ji Liu and his colleagues created a soft robot that can change colors instantly, similar to a chameleon, by using a flexible wristband that produces blue light.
According to the authors, the devices exhibit stable electroluminescence even when subjected to various kinds of mechanical deformation such as bending, twisting, and stretching.
What causes a chameleon’s color to change?
When a chameleon is stationary, it turns green, indicating that it is naturally at ease with its lush environment. Male chameleons, on the other hand, will change color when stimulated in the company of a female or a competing male.
When a chameleon is aroused, its color changes to yellow, orange, and red, indicating that it becomes more noticeable rather than adjusting to the color around it.
Chameleons’ skin has several cells that carry colored pigments. Some are yellow, some are red, and still, others contain the black pigment melanin. It is well known that chameleons and many other animals’ cells darken by secreting melanin from their fingerlike appendages. It concentrates the pigment in one location, making it lighter once more.