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Unlike conventional microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), machines based on gallium liquid metal alloys rely on Marangoni flows to induce motion without mechanical moving parts. Despite this advantage, currently developed liquid metal enabled robotic systems still need the locomotion of liquid metal droplets, thereby generating weak actuating forces and limiting their manoeuvrability. Here, a liquid metal engine (LME) is created to work as a jet thruster to continuously power a robot boat without the need of locomotion. In addition, the engine is electrically driven by surface tension without any mechanical moving parts. The structural design and the parameters of operation of the LME are investigated and optimized. Finally, the manipulation of the LME using a motor control unit is demonstrated for driving an untethered robot boat to realize complex locomotion with the precise control over the direction and speed. Thus, this LME could offer new opportunities for developing high‐performance liquid metal machines to power robotic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gallium-based liquid metal alloys have been attracting attention from both industry and academia as soft, deformable, reconfigurable and multifunctional materials in microfluidic, electronic and electromagnetic devices. Although various technologies have been explored to control the morphology of liquid metals, there is still a lack of methods that can achieve precise morphological control over a free-standing liquid metal droplet without the use of mechanical confinement. Electrochemical manipulation can be relatively easy to apply to liquid metals, but there is a need for techniques that can enable automatic and precise control. Here, we investigate the use of an electrochemical technique combined with a feedback control system to automatically and precisely control the morphology of a free-standing liquid metal droplet in a sodium hydroxide solution. We establish a proof-of-concept platform controlled by a microcontroller to demonstrate the reconfiguration of a liquid metal droplet to desired patterns. We expect that this method will be further developed to realize future reconfigurable liquid metal-enabled soft robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]