A robot that looks like a piece of rattan dough can be propelled through a maze without human help.
Researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Pennsylvania developed these “soft robots” that can be found in complex environments and detailed their findings in an article published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. .
The new design of the robots is important because it could help collect thermal energy from the natural environment by rolling on the ground.
Pasta-shaped robots do not rely on computer signals to dictate their movements. Instead, they use a kind of robotic muscle memory called physical intelligence, which means that “structural design and intelligent materials are what allow the smooth robot to navigate various situations, as opposed to computational intelligence, “said Jie Yin, an associate professor at NC State and one of the authors of the article.
Watch as a soft robot spins the walls of a maze toward freedom.
Robots are made of liquid crystal elastomers, a plastic-like material with heat-sensitive properties that are key to the robot’s movement. The material of which the robots are made is shaped like a ribbon and then twisted into a paste.
First, the robot is placed on a surface that is heated to at least 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit). This temperature is generally hotter than the surrounding air. Once the robot touches the surface, it contracts. The part of the robot that does not touch the surface does not contract. This imbalance causes the robot to roll. If the surface is heated, the robot rolls faster.
Yin said this method of automatic propulsion had been done before, using smooth side bars. But using this form has one drawback: the wand sticks in place and just spins. “The soft robot we made in the form of twisted tape is able to overcome these obstacles without any human or computer intervention,” Yin said.
The researchers solved the problem of moving through obstacles by creating a spiral shape. If the end of the robot hits an object, the robot only rotates around it. If the center of the robot comes in contact with an object, it “fits” into a rapid release of stored energy that causes the robot to jump and reorient before it lands.
In this way, the robot works like a vacuum cleaner used in homes, Yin said, “except that the soft robot we created draws energy from its environment and works without any computer programming.”
Why is this design important? According to Yin, it could provide insight into how we can make soft robots that can collect thermal energy from natural environments and navigate complex areas such as the surface of harsh deserts.