Researchers Design ‘Soft’ Robots that Can Move on Their Own
April 19, 2018 | University of HoustonEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
If Star Wars’ R2-D2 is your idea of a robot, think again. Researchers led by a University of Houston engineer have reported a new class of soft robot, composed of ultrathin sensing, actuating electronics and temperature-sensitive artificial muscle that can adapt to the environment and crawl, similar to the movement of an inchworm or caterpillar.
Cunjiang Yu, Bill D. Cook Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering, said potential applications range from surgery and rehabilitation to search and rescue in natural disasters or on the battlefield. Because the robot body changes shape in response to its surroundings, it can slip through narrow crevices to search for survivors in the rubble left by an earthquake or bombing, he said.
“They sense the change in environment and adapt to slip through,” he said.
These soft robots, made of soft artificial muscle and ultrathin deformable sensors and actuators, have significant advantages over the traditional rigid robots used for automation and other physical tasks.
The researchers said their work, published in the journal Advanced Materials, took its inspiration from nature. “Many creatures, such as inchworms that have completely soft compliant bodies without any rigid components (e.g., bones), exhibit unprecedented abilities in adapting their shapes and morphologies and unique locomotion behaviors,” they wrote.
Traditional soft robots lack the ability to adapt to their environments or move on their own.
The prototype adaptive soft robot includes a liquid crystal elastomer, doped with carbon black nanoparticles to enhance thermal conductivity, as the artificial muscle, combined with ultrathin mesh shaped stretchable thermal actuators and silicon-based light sensors. The thermal actuators provide heat to activate the robot.
The prototype is small – 28.6 millimeters in length, or just over one inch – but Yu said it could easily be scaled up. That’s the next step, along with experimenting with various types of sensors. While the prototype uses heat-sensitive sensors, it could employ smart materials activated by light or other cues, he said.
“This is the first of its kind,” Yu said. “You can use other sensors, depending on what you want it to do.”
In addition to Yu, co-authors include Chengjun Wang, Kyoseung Sim and Zhoulyu Rao, all of UH; Hojin Kim and Rafael Verduzco of Rice University; Jin Chen of Beijing University; and Yuhang Li, Weiqui Chen and Jizhou Song of Zhejiang University.
This work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Grant.
Suggested Items
BrainChip, Frontgrade Gaisler to Augment Space-Grade Microprocessors with AI Capabilities
05/06/2024 | BUSINESS WIREBrainChip Holdings Ltd, the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based, neuromorphic AI IP, and Frontgrade Gaisler, a leading provider of space-grade system-on-chip solutions, announce their collaboration to explore the integration of BrainChip’s AkidaTM neuromorphic processor into Frontgrade Gaisler’s next generation fault-tolerant, radiation-hardened microprocessors.
First Two WorldView Legion Spacecraft Performing Well After Launch
05/03/2024 | BUSINESS WIREMaxar Intelligence, provider of secure, precise geospatial intelligence, today confirmed the first two WorldView Legion satellites are performing well after being launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket earlier today from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
Boeing Validates Software for Future Manned Unmanned Refueling Missions
05/02/2024 | BoeingBoeing has advanced its manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) technology using a digital F/A-18 Super Hornet and MQ-25 Stingray. The testing shows the software is maturing for future U.S. Navy use and a potential to deploy the teaming capability on both F/A-18 Block II and III Super Hornets.
Gartner Survey Finds 61% of Organizations Are Evolving Their D&A Operating Model Because of AI Technologies
05/01/2024 | Gartner, Inc.Sixty-one percent of organizations are forced to evolve or rethink their data and analytics (D&A) operating model because of the impact of disruptive artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, according to a new Gartner, Inc. survey.
Chinese Smartphone Market Maintains its Recovery Momentum at 6.5% Growth in 1Q24,
04/26/2024 | IDCAccording to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, China smartphone shipments grew 6.5% year over year (YoY) to 69.3 million units in 1Q24.