Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) have both responsivity for the external stimulus responsiveness of LC and flexibility of polymer chains. Therefore, LCEs are expected as soft actuators. By incorporating light-absorbing and heat-releasing fillers in LCE, the macro shape of LCE can be controlled by light irradiation. In this study, a LCE containing gold-coated fine particles was prepared and its bending motion induced by near-infrared laser irradiation was studied. It was observed that in a rectangular sample, the bending displacement was larger when the sample was cutting out perpendicular to the director than cutting out parallel to the director.
