Phase-change material could let robots be soft or hard-bodied as needed

[Centrics]

If you've ever watched an octopus, you may have noticed how they can deliver powerful grasping force when necessary, yet can also squeeze through tiny openings by essentially making themselves "liquid." Now imagine if there were robots that could do the same thing. They could conceivably squirm through debris to reach buried survivors at disaster sites, or even travel through patients' bodies to perform medical procedures. An international team of scientists is working on making such technology a reality, using a combination of polyurethane foam and wax... Continue Reading Phase-change material could let robots be soft or hard-bodied as needed

Section: Robotics

Tags: Max Planck Institute, MIT, Phase change material, Soft Robotics, Stony Brook University

Related Articles:

• Soft robots could benefit from new light-controlled hydrogel
• Soft-bodied robot leaps 30 times its height
• Harvard scientists develop soft robots that can camouflage themselves
• Robot creates other robots out of foam
• Soft-bodied robot owes its moves to starfish and squid
• Unleash the Kraken! Robot octopus learning to swim

-->

The rest of the story
Gizmag