Scientists at MIT’s Chembots program have just introduced a self-contained, self-propelling robot. The gimmick of this bot is to house its power cell and locomotion mechanism all in it structural housing. This automaton, or self-operating machine or mechanism, is made up of silicone bladders and moves with the aid of a pneumatic battery. This battery uses hydrogen peroxide catalyst reaction that helps maintain a stable pressure inside the robots on-board pressure vessel. The reaction inflates the soft silicone pod, in turn forcing the robot forward. All it takes is a small current to go through built in valves, which are regulated with onboard electropermanent magnets.
How the battery works.
Valve cross-section.
Although the slow walk of this bot may not be enough to impress the projects funders, DARPA and Boeing, the valve system might be. The main focus in the experiment was to create flexible, and controllable, movement.
Read more about the technology in the group's paper, "Soft Robot Actuators using Energy-Efficient Valves Controlled by Electropermanent Magnet."
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