These Robots Can Heal Themselves And Its Awesome

These Robots Can Heal Themselves And It’s Awesome

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New breakthroughs in the field of soft robotics have yielded a unique material that can repair itself when cut, allowing for self-healing robots.

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These Robots Can Heal Themselves And Its Awesome

Researchers in Singapore have invented a new material for use on soft robots that allows them to heal from damage, similar to how human skin self-repairs. The invention, which comes from scientists at the National University of Singapore, could enhance the ability of soft robots to endure many different working conditions, while also cutting down on maintenance. It will also prove useful for the robots when they finally decide to rise up and overthrow human civilization (just kidding… or am I?).

While robotics technology has advanced at breakneck speeds over the past few decades, it’s become increasingly clear that traditional robots with metal or hard plastic components aren’t the best option for many applications. As a result, soft robotics is a field that is exploding in popularity, with experimental robot designs taking many different forms. More recently, the marriage of traditional robotic platforms and soft components has matured to the point where robotic hands can be equipped with soft pads that closely mimic the action of human hands, complete with a sense of touch that the robot can respond to.

As Reuters reports, a team of researchers from Singapore has taken things a step further by developing a soft polymer foam that “heals” itself when it is cut. Just like the hands of human laborers, robotic appendages will eventually endure some wear and tear and even injuries like cuts. Human hands can heal, but generic rubber pads on a robotic finger would need to be replaced over time. Artificially innervated foam — AiFoam for short — changes this in a big way. Described as a “highly elastic polymer,” the material fuses itself back together when cut, mimicking the healing action of human tissue.

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Robots With Senses

“We want to show that it is possible to replicate the human sense of touch in a robot, which opens up a new paradigm in the interaction between man and machine for future applications,” Assistant Professor Benjamin Tee explained in an earlier interview after first debuting the AiFoam material. In addition to healing itself, the material is pressure-sensitive, allowing a robotics platform to sense how firmly it is holding an item and ensure it has a solid grip. “By having a foam with our special formulation, we can sense both pressure and proximity easily,” he said.

In addition to being useful for standalone robotics applications, the researchers envision their new invention serving to augment prosthetics. Artificial limbs that can be controlled using signals from a person’s brain are already seeing use, and further enhancing that technology using soft foam that heals itself brings those prosthetics one step closer to acting exactly like a natural limb. Robots will inevitably become an even bigger part of our lives as the years pass, so it’s nice to know that they won’t need to borrow our bandaids.

Source: Reuters

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/self-healing-robots-aifoam-material/

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