According to foreign media reports, engineers at Northwestern University in the United States have developed a new soft, flexible device that can move a robot by stretching and contracting-just like human muscles.
Image source: Northwestern University, To demonstrate the new device (called an actuator), researchers used it to create a cylindrical, worm-like soft robot and an artificial biceps.
In the experiment, a cylindrical soft robot moved along a sharp bend in a narrow pipe-like environment, while the biceps were able to successfully lift a 500-gram weight 5,000 times in a row.
, Since the researchers 3D printed the main body of the soft actuator using ordinary rubber, the final robot material cost is about $3, excluding the small motor that drives the shape change of the actuator.
This is in sharp contrast to typical rigid actuators used in robots, which typically cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.
, Researchers say the new actuator can be used to develop cheap, soft and flexible robots that are safer and more suitable for practical applications.
Relevant research was published on July 8 in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems.
, “The long-standing goal of robotics experts has been to make robots safer,” said Ryan Truby of Northwestern University, one of the study leaders.
“If a soft robot hits a person, the damage will not be as great as if it were hit by a hard robot.
Our actuators can be used in robots that are more suitable for human-centered environments.
And, because they are cheap, we have the potential to use them more.
“, Truby, June and Donald Brewer Junior Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, directs The Robotic Matter Lab.
Taekyoung Kim, a postdoctoral scholar in Truby’s laboratory and first author of the paper, co-led the study.
Pranav Kaarthik, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering, also participated in the work.
, Robots that “behave and move like organisms”, return to First Electric Network Home>,.
