Watch A Squishy Gel Transform Into Robotic Claws

The "ionoprinting" process converts gels into machines What you see here are hydrogels--squishy, aqueous semi-solids--being turned into tiny machines. By wiring a copper electrode to hydrogels (in any shape), researchers from North Carolina State University can stiffen sections of the gels, making them change into more rigid shapes. They call the process "ionoprinting," since it works through a reaction caused by inserting copper ions into the gel. Mold a gel into, say, a claw shape, as they do ...