Large-area stretchable electronics are critical for progress in wearable computing, soft robotics and inflatable structures. Recent efforts have focused on engineering electronics from soft materials—elastomers, polyelectrolyte gels and liquid metal. While these materials enable elastic compliance and deformability, they are vulnerable to tearing, puncture and other mechanical damage modes that cause electrical failure. Here, we introduce a material architecture for soft and highly deformable circuit interconnects that are electromechanically stable under typical loading conditions, while exhibiting uncompromising resilience to mechanical damage. The material is composed of liquid metal droplets suspended in a soft elastomer; when damaged, the droplets rupture to form new connections with neighbours and re-route electrical signals without interruption. Since self-healing occurs spontaneously, these materials do not require manual repair or external heat. We demonstrate this unprecedented electronic robustness in a self-repairing digital counter and self-healing soft robotic quadruped that continue to function after significant damage.

大面积可伸缩电子设备对于可穿戴计算，软机器人和充气结构的发展至关重要。最近的努力集中在利用软材料（弹性体，聚电解质凝胶和液态金属）制造工程电子产品。尽管这些材料能够实现弹性柔韧性和变形能力，但它们很容易受到撕裂，刺穿和其他机械损坏，从而导致电气故障。在这里，我们介绍一种用于软性和高度变形电路互连的材料架构，这些电路互连在典型的负载条件下是机电稳定的，同时展现出对机械损伤的永不妥协的弹性。该材料由悬浮在软弹性体中的液态金属小滴组成。损坏的时候 液滴破裂以与邻居建立新的连接，并重新路由电信号而不会中断。由于自愈作用是自发发生的，因此这些材料不需要人工修理或外部加热。我们在自我修复的数字计数器和自我修复的软机器人四足机器人中展示了这种前所未有的电子鲁棒性，这些四足机器人在受到重大损坏后仍可继续工作。