3D-printed smart gel walking under water


Daehoon Han

Rutgers engineers have created a 3D-printed smart gel that can walk underwater and can grasp and move objects—a development with great potential in biomedical engineering because the gel resembles human tissues, which contain ample amounts of water and are soft. The watery creation—the result of a collaboration between Howon Lee, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the School of Engineering, and his research team—could lead to the development of artificial human organs and muscles as well as devices for diagnosing diseases and delivering drugs. Soft materials like smart gel are flexible and suitable for miniaturization, and they are easier to design, manufacture, and control than more mechanically complicated hard devices.