In a laboratory in Connecticut, a palm-sized silicone robot contracts to move forward with a movement lizard-like . A brick falls onto his leg, trapping him as he tries to move.
A few seconds later, the body contorts and moves away, leaving one of its legs motionless under the object.
THE robot, which can amputate its limbs — just as a gecko lizard releases its tail when grabbed by a hungry predator — is the creation of researchers from Yale University.
The main innovation is in the robot’s joints. The substance that holds them together has a rubbery consistency at room temperature. When heated, it becomes more liquid, allowing the member to separate.
The articulation also works in reverse. Different parts can be cast together to create a modular machine. In the Yale laboratory, three robots team up to cross a gap too wide for just one to overcome.
Most modern automatons are made from rigid materials such as metals and plastics. However, interest in “soft” robots built from flexible materials is growing.
Proponents of this technology claim that their flexibility allows them to navigate tight spaces and difficult environments, as well as perform delicate tasks more efficiently than their rigid counterparts.
The Yale gecko-inspired robot’s ability to reconfigure itself creates an even more adaptable soft device.
“We can modify the functionality of the automaton as needed,” said Bilige Yang, a graduate researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science who led the research on the robot, published in Advanced Materials magazine at the end of May.
Shape-changing soft robots
Currently, soft automatons are used for activities such as strawberry picking, but they are not yet widely used, according to Yu Jun Tan, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) who is not involved in Yang’s research, in an interview with CNN .
However, roboticists around the world are working on soft robots, often inspired by nature, to perform a variety of tasks – from a small starfish-shaped device to carry medicine through the human intestine, to a machine jellyfish-inspired squishy for underwater exploration.
Tan, who works on materials for soft electronics and robotics, says the Yale robot is the first soft device capable of self-amputation and self-reconfiguration that she has ever seen. “It is a very, very interesting innovation, which can be applied in different fields,” he said.
She added that she hopes to see this joint used in robots made from biodegradable materials, to minimize the impact on the environment when an amputated part is left behind.
According to Yang, nature has developed its own solutions: “And we can actually take inspiration from it, rather than starting from scratch.”
A soft robot that can leave a limb behind could be useful in search and rescue missions in dangerous rubble and in planetary exploration in treacherous terrain, Yang said.
“Imagine if a soft robot is simply walking around in nature, but part of it gets stuck under a rock?” he questioned. “How does the rest of the automaton continue to complete its mission?”
Yang and his colleagues plan to incorporate their innovations into other soft robots they are working on in the Yale lab, allowing these devices to become parts of larger modular systems, changing shape depending on the task at hand and adding capabilities as they go.
He gives the example of a robot that does not have enough computing power to process data from the environment in which it is operating, but that can take an extra microprocessor and integrate it. “Now we can adapt soft automatons… after the robot is already underway for its tasks,” he said.
The next step? Yang and other Yale researchers are working on a robotic turtle that can transition from land to water smoothly, with legs that change from rounded limbs like those of a land reptile to flexible, flat legs like those of a land reptile. a marine species.
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This content was originally published in Researchers create a robot that imitates a gecko and amputates its own limbs on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
