Self-healing hydrogels

Archaeology

Nanotechnology

Polymer chemistry

Pure mathematics

Natural (archaeology)

Mathematics

History

Engineering

Actuator

Artificial intelligence

Biomimetics

Materials science

Artificial muscle

Computer science

Smart material

Field (mathematics)

Mechanical engineering

Creatures

Advanced Science

Polymeric hydrogel actuators refer to intelligent stimuli‐responsive hydrogels that could reversibly deform upon the trigger of various external stimuli. They have thus aroused tremendous attention and shown promising applications in many fields including soft robots, artificial muscles, valves, and so on. After a brief introduction of the driving forces that contribute to the movement of living creatures, an overview of the design principles and development history of hydrogel actuators is provided, then the diverse anisotropic structures of hydrogel actuators are summarized, presenting the promising applications of hydrogel actuators, and highlighting the development of multifunctional hydrogel actuators. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspectives of this exciting field are discussed.

Recent Progress in Biomimetic Anisotropic Hydrogel Actuators