Fig. 1.

Overview and working principle of STAUD-prepreg. a Illustration of laminated layers of unidirectional muscle fibers in a muscular hydrostat in cephalopod tentacles and the working mechanism for achieving complex motion. b Schematic and optical micrograph of stretchable adhesive unidirectional prepreg (STAUD-prepreg). Scale bar: 10 mm. c Quasi-static uniaxial tensile testing results of STAUD-prepreg laminae with respect to different fiber orientations (θ = 0°, 45°, 90° from left). d Photographs of inflating planar soft body. Free inflation (top) with uniform radial expansion and constrained inflation (bottom) with one adhered lamina at θ = 90°. e Schematic of fabrication process for STAUD-prepreg using a bench-top fiber winder. f Illustration of cylindrical actuators with one STAUD-prepreg lamina adhered, and the ensuing inflation trajectory