The new generation of robots will be flexible and soft.. You may want to embrace the new robots that are coming!
- What is soft robots !
- Why use soft robots !
What should the new generation of robots look like? This is a matter of concern to many scientists these days, although modern robots have many amazing capabilities, but there does not seem to be a significant change in their external appearance. They are still mechanical bodies made of metal and have automatic slow motion. Is it possible to make a change in This future body and make it soft and supple? This is what we are trying to discover through the opinions and perceptions of AI scientists.
The new generation of robots will be flexible and soft, why?
Unlike the robotic cold metal structure, the human body has a flexible movement due to the presence of muscles and joints, and the entire skin is covered, which is not only related to the beauty of the external form, but is important to respond to the changing external conditions and conditions, which cannot be expected in many cases. .
For the same reason we need this modern generation of robots that have a soft human touch, which is not just a conception of scientists, but is being researched at the present time under the title of Soft Robots, and aims to invent robots suitable for any purpose, especially the things that humans perform efficiently Larger.
Scientists discovered the need for this type of robots while experimenting with the use of robots in various fields such as agriculture and medicine. Lettuce grows stuck to the ground and is easily damaged, so it is difficult for solid robots to collect it, but it was found that if the robots had soft arms instead of metal ones, the control of this process would be easier and simpler.
It was also found that hard robots caused some accidents in places where they worked alongside humans, such as factories and medical centers, due to their rapid movement that led to workers colliding with their metal limbs and injuring them. On the contrary, soft robots can work side by side with humans without causing accidents due to For the nature of their soft bodies.
How can robots be developed to become soft and smooth?
Research for this new generation of robots is focused on inventing modern ways to make artificial muscles that are similar to those of living organisms from humans. These new muscles are called HASEL. These artificial muscles that scientists are working on can imitate natural muscle movement, and inexpensive materials are used to make them called HASEL. Electrically active polymers, which were used to make a prosthetic muscle for the first time in Japan in 2002, in soft robots, a number of artificial muscles will be combined with other parts and make them behave like a soft creature like an octopus, eliminating all the metal parts found in hard robots, In addition, the low price of the material from which soft robots are made will make them available in all possible fields and for all purposes without exception.
Future uses for this new generation of soft robots
This keenness of scientists to work on soft robots despite the difficulties and challenges they face is due to the great benefits that can be achieved through them in the future, in various fields, among which we mention the following:
- The manufacture of prosthetic limbs so that they are not just traditional limbs that adapt to the movement of a person, but are able to imitate that movement, this application also includes the manufacture of limbs for animals.
- Supporting people who are unable to move, such as the elderly and those who underwent surgery for a short time, and for this purpose solid robots were used, but it was found that moving them to places outside medical centers is difficult.
- Treating internal parts of the human body, and the soft robots used in it are called biodegradable robots, which are loaded with a specific drug or treatment and inserted into the body, to treat one of the internal parts of it that is difficult to access without surgery.
- Rescue operations that require entry into places that are too narrow for hard robots to enter.
- Climb tall buildings like skyscrapers and do maintenance there instead of endangering humans.
Challenges in the soft robotics industry
Despite all the previous advantages and wonderful uses that scientists place a lot of hopes on in the future, there are still great challenges facing the soft robotics industry, which made its development considered slow given the history of the appearance of the first artificial muscle 19 years ago, the most important of these challenges are The difficulty of programming this type of robot, and its need for a huge number of commands that cover every possible rotation and movement of those soft muscles in a specific direction.
The new generation of robots also faces a challenge related to the soft material from which it is made, which is polymers, as this material is susceptible to high and low temperatures to a large degree, as some polymers lose their cohesion when exposed to high temperatures and others harden to the point of fracture, and this effect appears more in Robots whose work requires staying for a long time under water, which may be cold to the point of freezing in some areas, and may reach the temperature of evaporation in other areas, which may be a problem in using these robots for rescue or diving purposes to search for certain things underwater.
Other challenges include sensing problems in the soft body of the robot, where the bendable parts do not work well, and how to properly control and point the robots at the target.
The new generation of soft robots has many hopes for the future, but it still faces more challenges, but scientists continue to try and have succeeded in achieving many successful models of this type of robots, and the next – God willing – will be better.
The new generation of robots will be flexible and soft.. You may want to embrace the new robots that are coming!
