The review provides a comprehensive overview of the self-regulation strategies employed in the development of autonomous soft robots. These strategies encompass self-propulsion, self-oscillation, multi-stimulus-response mechanisms, as well as chirality and topological constraint structures.

The soft robot composed of a photothermal responsive anisotropic hydrogel with a fast and reversible deformation exhibits continuous rolling motion under constant light irradiation by the mirror symmetry-breaking, and the rolling motion is characterized by intriguing oscillatory behavior.

Novel smart core-shell elastomer fibers are developed, featuring a conductive core and a liquid crystal elastomer shell. The fibers exhibit simultaneous changes in color and resistance in response to mechanical deformations such as stretching, bending, compression, and twisting.

A liquid crystalline hydrogel (LCH) actuator capable of dual actuation in response to a single stimulus of heating or cooling is demonstrated using interpenetrating networks of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogel and a main-chain liquid crystal elastomer (LCE).

We introduce MXene nanosheets to construct ionotronic hydrogels. Leveraging the rich surface charges and electronic conductivity of MXene nanosheets, ionotronic hydrogels can harvest vibrational and electromagnetic waves as electrical energy and enable noncontact sensing.

We propose a molecular entanglement approach for the fabrication of polyaniline hydrogel featuring high fracture strength of 0.75 MPa, toughness of 4.81 MJ·m-3, and low energy dissipation ratio (28.2% when stretching to 300%), which can be employed as a strain sensor to monitor movements of human joints.

A liquid metal-incorporated liquid crystal elastomer (LM-LCE) composite is utilized to construct a fully 3D printed soft robot. With the application of voltage, the LM induces the contraction of the LCE layer through Joule heating. Soft robots can exhibit distinct moving behaviors, including crawling and flipping, by applying different voltages.

A tubular-mold-based processing technology to prepare fibrous CLCE actuators, and the prepared actuators exhibit the capabilities to dynamically switch structural colors and geometrical shapes by mechanical, temperature, or light stimuli.

The plant-tendril-inspired, biomimetic liquid crystal elastomer fiber actuators shows various helical deformations via changing their three-dimensional structures and asymmetric core-sheath configurations using 4D-printing technology. The mechanism of helical shape-morphing behaviors of the fiber actuators is revealed by finite element simulations.

A renewable fluorescent LCE obtained from multiple monomers containing 1,2-dithiolane end groups is developed. The transparency and fluorescence intensity of the LCE film can be changed at a phase transition temperature of 8.0 °C. The potential application of LCE film in temperature monitoring of short-time vaccine transportation is demonstrated.

The GNR/PW/CGNP composites with dynamic ionic crosslinking exhibit recyclable processability, excellent shape stability, highly thermal conductivity, and high latent heat, which makes the composites the promising candidate for thermal management applications in electronic devices.

A family of bulky α-diimine Fe(II) complexes were reported to catalyze ring opening polymerization (ROP) of a large ring-sized macrolactone, ω-pentadecalactone (PDL), with high catalytic efficiencies. With the aid of bulky nature of the ligands, transesterification reactions could be significantly suppressed, allowing the polymerization proceed in a living-like manner.

Direct strain-induced SC was observed. For the samples molded at 50 and 80 oC, this behavior is attributed to the considerable SC nuclei, which are assumed to act as physical cross-links to initiate strain-induced crystallization. At 120 oC, this phenomenon can be ascribed in part to the cold crystallization.

Diphenylalanine-based analogue with ethylenediamine linker (PA molecule) can self-assemble to form onion-like nanospheres, serving as highly effective carriers for cancer chemotherapeutic agents. And main chain-side chain interaction between PA molecules may be important in the formation of onion-like nanospheres.