8. (10 points) On a line segment $AB$ of length 4, there is a moving point $C$. Isosceles triangles $ACD$ and $BEC$ are on the same side of the line through $AB$, with $AD=DC$ and $CE=EB$. The minimum length of line segment $DE$ is
2
【Solution】Solution:
Since the isosceles triangle is an axially symmetric figure, the figure 2 can be folded along the two heights. It is not difficult to conclude that the length of $D E$ is actually half of $A B$
$$
4 \div 2=2
$$

Therefore, the answer to this question is 2.
【Analysis】According to the problem, draw figure 1. At this point, to make the length of $D E$ the shortest, the heights of the two isosceles triangles need to be adjusted. When the two isosceles triangles have the same height, the length between $D E$ is the smallest, as shown in figure 2