Forgot steel and aluminum metal! Tomorrow's robots may be crushed, stretched, or smashed. This new robotic device – partly from the new soft robot field – has many advantages over traditional robots. Soft robots can be more easily moved in a limited space. They can better interact with humans, which makes them an excellent assistant for the elderly. One day, they may even lead to the emergence of high-tech artificial muscles – enough to change the lives of millions of people with disabilities around the world.
James Carrico, a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, presented a small 3D printed ionic polymer-metal composite soft robotic hand.
However, to create artificial muscles, not only to develop a strong, flexible material, but also to figure out how to accurately control and skillfully manufacture it. This is the goal of Kwang Kim of the University of Nevada Las Vegas and his team funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Kwang Kim is a research team of scientists from different institutions – four American universities plus research institutions in Japan and South Korea – whose goal is to transform a new type of polymer material into artificial muscle. NSF provides financial support through its International Research and Education Partnership (PIRE) program, which supports innovative global research collaborations in all areas of science and engineering.
It is understood that the Korean research institutes participating in the project are the Korea Advanced Science and Technology Research Institute (KAIST), and the Japanese is the National Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Research Institute. Both organizations are known for their excellent expertise in the field of robotics. (For example, KAIST recently won the Robotics Challenge hosted by the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.)
However, one of the great challenges of soft robotics is finding the right materials. "It has to be soft, but it also has enough power to do a lot of different things," Kim said. Currently, his team is using a synthetic material called an ionic polymer-metal composite, which is an electroactive polymer – which means that when it passes electricity through it, it changes shape. .
“For robots, it must be mobile and must be able to perceive,†said Kam Leang, a professor at the University of Utah's Robotics Center and a co-investigator of the project. Conventional robots usually use an electric motor to complete the former. “In this project, we are using the electroactive polymer itself to achieve robotic motion.â€
In addition to this, electroactive polymers can also be used for sensing motion, which makes them ideal for use in soft robots. Leang and his colleagues also devised a way to 3D print this material. Part of his research throughout the study was how to expand this 3D printing manufacturing approach and find ways to better control the movement of the polymer. Others are committed to better understanding—and improving—polymer materials to make them more reactive, stronger, and more economical.
It should be noted that the project was funded by the NSF last fall and is still in the early stages of research. Kim said that the soft robot itself is still a relatively new field, and he has been working on electroactive polymers for nearly 20 years.
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