Mimicking biological neuromuscular systems’ sensory motion requires the unification of sensing and actuation in a singular artificial muscle material, which must not only actuate but also sense their own motions. These functionalities would be of great value for soft robotics that seek to achieve multifunctionality and local sensing capabilities approaching natural organisms. Here, we report a soft somatosensitive actuating material using an electrically conductive and photothermally responsive hydrogel, which combines the functions of piezoresistive strain/pressure sensing and photo/thermal actuation into a single material. Synthesized through an unconventional ice-templated ultraviolet–cryo-polymerization technique, the homogenous tough conductive hydrogel exhibited a densified conducting network and highly porous microstructure, achieving a unique combination of ultrahigh conductivity (36.8 milisiemens per centimeter, 10³-fold enhancement) and mechanical robustness, featuring high stretchability (170%), large volume shrinkage (49%), and 30-fold faster response than conventional hydrogels. With the unique compositional homogeneity of the monolithic material, our hydrogels overcame a limitation of conventional physically integrated sensory actuator systems with interface constraints and predefined functions. The two-in-one functional hydrogel demonstrated both exteroception to perceive the environment and proprioception to kinesthetically sense its deformations in real time, while actuating with near-infinite degrees of freedom. We have demonstrated a variety of light-driven locomotion including contraction, bending, shape recognition, object grasping, and transporting with simultaneous self-monitoring. When connected to a control circuit, the muscle-like material achieved closed-loop feedback controlled, reversible step motion. This material design can also be applied to liquid crystal elastomers.

模仿生物神经肌肉系统的感觉运动需要在单一的人造肌肉材料中将感觉和驱动统一起来，这种材料不仅要驱动，还要感知自身的运动。这些功能对于寻求实现接近自然有机体的多功能和局部传感能力的软机器人具有重要价值。在这里，我们报告了一种使用导电和光热响应水凝胶的柔软体敏驱动材料，它将压阻应变/压力传感和光/热驱动的功能结合到单一材料中。通过非常规的冰模板紫外-低温聚合技术合成，均质的强韧导电水凝胶表现出致密的导电网络和高度多孔的微观结构，³-倍增强）和机械坚固性，具有高拉伸性 (170%)、大体积收缩 (49%) 和比传统水凝胶快 30 倍的响应。凭借整体材料独特的组成均匀性，我们的水凝胶克服了具有界面约束和预定义功能的传统物理集成感觉执行器系统的局限性。二合一功能性水凝胶展示了外感觉感知环境和本体感觉实时感知其变形，同时以近乎无限的自由度进行驱动。我们已经展示了各种光驱动的运动，包括收缩、弯曲、形状识别、物体抓取和同时自我监控的运输。当连接到控制电路时，这种类似肌肉的材料实现了闭环反馈控制的可逆步进运动。这种材料设计也可以应用于液晶弹性体。