Soft robots that can replicate the unsettling abilities of animals and insects have been developed by roboticists at The Faboratory at Yale University. These robots can self-amputate limbs and fuse together to overcome obstacles. In a demo video, a soft quadruped robot manages to break free from a trapped leg by heating the reversible joint attaching it. The robot can then reattach the limb. In another video, three crawler robots fuse together using heated and softened joints to cross a gap as a single unit.
While these capabilities are not entirely new to robotics, the innovation lies in the use of joints made from a bicontinuous thermoplastic foam and a sticky polymer. This unique combination allows the joints to be melted, pulled apart, and then stuck together again. Existing systems based on mechanical connections and magnets are inherently rigid, making the soft robots’ flexible joints a significant advancement.
The roboticists detailed their work in a paper titled “Self-Amputating and Interfusing Machines,” published in Advanced Materials. They believe that their techniques could pave the way for future robots capable of radical shape-shifting through autotomy (self-amputation) and interfusion (fusion of multiple robots).
This development raises the question of whether these soft robots are more or less unnerving than robots with smiling faces and living skin. The answer is subjective and open to interpretation. However, it is clear that the advancements in soft robotics showcased by The Faboratory at Yale University have the potential to revolutionize the field and contribute to the development of highly adaptable and versatile robots in the future.
