There is such a magical robot that can do this,
Grow by itself like a vine, with its soft body extending to various corners;
Or like an octopus, the entire body does not have any hard structural organization, just like Baymax in "Super Marines";
Of course, there are also underwater robots that imitate other fish creatures, soft "fish "Fins" move flexibly in the water just like real fish.
And these seemingly weak and boneless robots are our protagonists today—soft robots.
What is a soft robot?
Many creatures in nature have their own flexibility and flexibility. As you can see from the above animated pictures, flexible robots actually imitate the shapes of some animals.
Of course, the concept of flexible robots we are discussing is relatively narrow, which means that it is completely composed of flexible materials without redundant hard structures. Therefore, flexible robots must have three characteristics: high flexibility, deformability and Energy absorption properties.
Professor Zhu Jian of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore also gave a simple concept. The characteristics of flexible robots include the softness of materials, excellent environmental adaptability, super safety, and good human behavior. Machine interactivity, etc.
Stanford University researchers imitated the growth of grapevines and invented a new type of flexible robot that can grow like a grapevine, shuttle through the rubble, find trapped survivors, and even deliver water to them .
Flexible robot "Octobot"
Researchers at Harvard University have previously demonstrated their latest research results: a fully flexible robot "Octobot" in the shape of an octopus. The whole body of this robot is made of soft and flexible materials, and it can move on its own without external power.
Professor Li Tiefeng of Zhejiang University and other researchers previously published an article titled "Fast-moving soft electronic fish" in "Science", describing the electronic fish they developed. A kind of soft robot, the flexible characteristics allow this "electronic fish" to navigate in small spaces, broadening the space they can travel in.
Flexible robot based on origami design
Recently, researchers from Case Western Reserve University developed a soft robot based on origami design.
Whether it is MIT and Harvard University abroad or Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University at home, researchers are seeking breakthroughs in flexible robot technology. It is no exaggeration to say that if you want to meet these characteristics at the same time, there are many technical difficulties, so this is why the technology of flexible robots has always been in the experimental prototype stage.
Can softness and strength be compatible at the same time? How to make a robot’s body soft and boneless
Why no mature flexible robot has ever been introduced to the market? This has to mention its technical difficulties.
In order to achieve high flexibility and deformability, the materials and driving methods of flexible robots are very particular. Traditional rigid connectors and shells are not suitable at all.
First of all, the material of the flexible robot must be flexible enough to be easily deformed and bent, and its driving method must also be taken into consideration. At present, it is more common to use 3D printing materials to make flexible robots. "Shells," such as hydrogels, create soft gel-like robots.
Soft robots made of hydrogel
A research team at MIT conducted a tentative experiment. They used 3D printing and laser cutting to create a hydrogel shell to achieve " The "flexibility" of the body then drives the robot's movement through hydraulic drive.
Then there are some special materials to create materials similar to artificial muscles. Substances such as electronic power polymers (EAP) and shape memory alloys are good materials for artificial muscles. Shape memory alloys For example, it can automatically change its shape according to temperature, and can remember these shapes to achieve actions such as bending, shortening, and grabbing objects.
Harvard University has made many research breakthroughs in this area. They have developed an artificial muscle based on carbon nanotubes, which contains "dielectric elastomers". When an electric field acts on soft materials, , deformation will occur. However, the electric field strength will be more difficult to control.
In addition, there is also an emerging functional material, room temperature liquid metal, which can be arbitrarily switched between different forms and movement modes under the influence of electricity, magnetism, force, and heat. Liu Jing, a researcher at the Institute of Physics and Chemistry Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Tsinghua University, also wrote in her review article on room temperature liquid metals, "The discovery of the deformable machine effect of liquid metal is expected to lead to major breakthroughs in flexible machine theory and technology."
Neither electric drive nor pneumatic drive is a perfect solution
As for the drive method, it can be seen from the composition of the materials that most of them are actually driven by electric drive. Compared with Compared with other driving methods, electric actuators have the characteristics of large deformation, high energy density, compact structure, light weight, low price and low noise. However, this driving method also has great hidden dangers. It is difficult to control the robot's movement accuracy. On the other hand, if the electric field intensity required to drive the robot's movement is too high, it will also affect its movement within a certain range.
Of course, there is also a pneumatic drive method. The flexible octopus robot Octobot launched by Harvard University we mentioned earlier achieves movement through a simple chemical reaction of hydrogen peroxide decomposition, using peroxide as "fuel" When hydrogen meets a platinum catalyst, it will produce water and oxygen. The increase in oxygen will increase the pressure in the octopus's body, causing it to move after repeated switching.
However, compared with electric drive, the movement speed of this method will be slower, and the deformation of the flexible robot will also be limited.
Although it has broad application prospects, it is still in the paper stage.
Although there are many difficulties in the research of flexible robots, it is also a major focus of research and development in many university laboratories, because from the practicality If you think about it, this kind of flexible robot is very suitable for some "extreme" scenarios, such as rescue at disaster sites: it can enter some dangerous and small places; and for underwater exploration, the flexible robot can dive into places like coral reefs. Inside the underwater creatures, explore more secrets of the ocean floor without harming them.
The implantable soft robot released by Harvard University
In the medical field, soft robots are also a great tool. If doctors want to prescribe the right medicine for a certain organ in the human body, they can use flexible robots to Robot realization, Franck Vernerey, a mechanical engineer in the laboratory of the University of Colorado Boulder, developed a soft robot specifically for medical treatment. In addition, in his opinion, robots used in the medical field can only be constructed in the form of software creeping.
Conclusion:
After briefly sorting out the concept of flexible robots, Meikejun is very much looking forward to the transformative changes it will bring to our lives after its implementation, and many laboratories listed in the article The case also shows that the research on flexible robots has been ongoing. As time passes and the relevant technologies mature, they will surely shine in the robot industry.