Self-Oscillating Gel Could Lead to Artificial Skin That Gives Robots Ability to Feel
Posted on March 29, 2012
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have demonstrated that a nonoscillating gel can be resuscitated in a fashion similar to a medical cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The researchers say this self-oscillating gel could ultimately lead to new applications that sense mechanical stimuli and respond chemically, such as artificial skin or muscle that gives robots the ability to feel.
Anna Balazs, Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering in Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering, says, "Think of it like human skin, which can provide signals to the brain that something on the body is deformed or hurt. This gel has numerous far-reaching applications, such as artificial skin that could be sensory - a holy grail in robotics."
Balazs says the gel could also serve as a pressure sensor for different vehicles or instruments to see whether they'd been bumped, providing diagnostics for the impact on surfaces. Balazs says she has been interested in materials like BZ gel since childhood.
Balzas says, "My mother would often tease me when I was young, saying I was like a mimosa plant - shy and bashful. As a result, I became fascinated with the plant and its unique hide-and-seek qualities - the plant leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, reopening just minutes later. I knew there had to be a scientific application regarding touch, which led me to studies like this in mechanical and chemical energy."
The video shows how the gel can communicate pressure points and how the reaction spreads to other areas. If the gel segments are too far apart, then there is no reaction. Take a look:
The responsive gel was developed by Irene Chou Chen, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and predicted by Anna Balazs and her colleagues. The research paper was published here in Advanced Functional Materials.