These futuristic robots can amputate limbs and regenerate them
What's the story
Roboticists at The Faboratory, Yale University, have developed soft robots that mimic certain behaviors of animals and insects, such as self-amputation and body fusion.
A demonstration video showed a quadruped robot amputating its own leg when trapped under a rock.
This was achieved by heating the reversible joint attaching the leg with an electric current, enabling the robot to escape.
The researchers confirmed that the detached limb can be re-attached.
Adaptability
Soft robots also demonstrate body fusion capability
In another demonstration, three crawler robots were shown overcoming a gap between tables by fusing their bodies together.
This was also accomplished by heating and softening their joints with an electric current, enabling them to cross the gap as a single unit.
The fusion of bodies is not a new concept in robotics, but the application in soft robots marks an innovative step forward.
Technology
Unique joint design enables advanced capabilities
The innovation in these soft robots lies in their joints, which are made from a bicontinuous thermoplastic foam combined with a sticky polymer.
This unique combination permits the joint to be melted and pulled apart, then stuck together again.
Existing systems that use mechanical connections and magnets are inherently rigid, according to the engineering magazine Spectrum IEEE.
The new design offers flexibility and adaptability not seen in traditional robotics.
Future potential
Yale researchers envision shape-shifting robots
The researchers detailed their work in a paper titled "Self-Amputating and Interfusing Machines," published in Advanced Materials.
They suggested their techniques could potentially lead to "future robots capable of radical shape-shifting via changes in mass through autotomy and interfusion."
This vision indicates a future where robots can adapt their physical form to overcome obstacles or perform specific tasks, much like certain animals and insects.