A “cloth robot” with built-in sensors that can move and stretch is about to show its talents. They will help future robots obtain “tactile” “skin”, become robot outerwear that enhances human strength and endurance, reduce the impact of pilots and astronauts during navigation, and may also become a powerful assistant for human exploration of space.
According to a recent report by the Physicist Organization Network. The researchers mixed sensors made of flexible polymers and linear actuators made of memory metal into the cotton fabric that makes up the robot. When the memory metal heats up, it will curl and shrink, making the fabric “move”.
“Currently, most ‘robotic fabrics’ can only sense signals from electronic components through wires. But we have successfully integrated actuation and sensing.” Rebecca Kramer, professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, USA Said, “We use sewing technology to sew linear actuators and sensors into the fabric, so this technology has the potential to be integrated into the modern textile industry and carried out large-scale production.”
After the cloth robot is wrapped on the surface of a material such as foam plastic or a balloon, it can drive the material to bend and deform in the desired direction, pushing the material forward in an arch like an inchworm; it can also make squirming and sliding movements by compressing different parts.
The goal of the research is to develop a series of “soft robots” that embed desired functions into a stretchable “skin.” In the future, the “skin” will be embedded with more flexible and shock-resistant electronic components to adapt to space activities, which will effectively reduce the carrying weight of astronauts and spacecrafts; this technology can also be used in portable robots to integrate specific “skin” functions By covering the surface of a deformable device with cloth, it can be quickly assembled into a specific device suitable for interstellar exploration.
“We can even design a robotic suit for flies.” Kramer said optimistically, “With the help of external wearable machine ‘skin’, any object can have the potential to become a robot.”
The research team led by Kramer has submitted relevant papers to the International Conference on Intelligent Robot Systems in Chicago, USA. During the meeting, they also demonstrated a variable-stiffness fabric that could be used in medical stents and machine manufacturing.
Shape memory polymer fibers give the fabric the ability to change its hardness. The polymer will undergo a phase change when heated, making the material softer and can be used for medical fixation in specific areas. The polymer surface is also covered with a shape memory alloy that softens the polymer material by heating up when electricity is applied. This technology is expected to make robotics more energy-efficient in the future.
Kramer said: “Normally, making the hinge joints of a machine move or maintain a specific position requires a large amount of energy to continue to prevent the joints from loosening. But now, the new fabric can lock the joints with low energy consumption.”
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