This led scientists to create a robot that shape-shifts between solid and liquid. And it has both strong and flexible qualities.
The idea for the robot was inspired by sea cucumbers, which can rapidly change their stiffness. Carmel Majidi of Carnegie Mellon University, a senior author of the study, said that the robot’s ability to switch between liquid and solid states gives it “more functionality”.
In one test, the robot escaped from a cage by liquefying before reforming back into its original shape.
The team believes that the robot could have useful applications in the biomedical field.
For example, the robot was able to move a foreign object stuck in a model stomach during one experiment. However, Majidi noted that “much more study will be required to delve into how this could actually be used for drug delivery or for removing foreign objects”.
Overall, the shape-shifting robot represents a significant breakthrough in robotics, as it offers the strength of a solid robot and the flexibility of a soft-bodied robot.
