Engineers design synthetic gel that changes shape and moves via its own internal energy

Source: PHYS ORG

For decades, robots have advanced the efficiency of human activity. Typically, however, robots are formed from bulky, stiff materials and require connections to external power sources; these features limit their dexterity and mobility. But what if a new material would allow for development of a "soft robot" that could reconfigure its own shape and move using its own internally generated power?

By developing a new computational model, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering have designed a synthetic polymer gel that can utilize internally generated chemical energy to undergo shape-shifting and self-sustained propulsion. Their research, " Designing Dual-functionalized Gels for Self-reconfiguration and Autonomous Motion ", was published April 30th in the journal Scientific Reports, published by Nature.

The authors are Anna C. Balazs, PhD, the Swanson School's Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and the Robert v. d. Luft Professor; and Olga Kuksenok, PhD, Research Associate Professor.

"Movement is a fundamental biological behavior, exhibited by the simplest cell to human beings. It allows organisms to forage for food or flee from prey. But synthetic materials typically don't have the capability for spontaneous mechanical action or the ability to store and use their own energy, factors that enable directed motion" Dr. Balazs said. "Moreover in biology, directed movement involves some form of shape changes, such as the expansion and contraction of muscles. So we asked whether we could mimic these basic interconnected functions in a synthetic system so that it could simultaneously change its shape and move."


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-squishier-robot-synthetic-gel-internal.html#jCp

Read more: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-squishier-robot-synthetic-gel-internal.html