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Phase-Changing Material Created For Robots

Posted by samzenpus on from the bend-it-shape-it dept.

rtoz writes In the movie Terminator 2, the shape-shifting T-1000 robot morphs into a liquid state to squeeze through tight spaces or to repair itself when harmed. Now a phase-changing material built from wax and foam, and capable of switching between hard and soft states, could allow even low-cost robots to perform the same feat. The material developed by MIT researchers could be used to build deformable surgical robots. The robots could move through the body to reach a particular point without damaging any of the organs or vessels along the way. The Robots built from this material could also be used in search-and-rescue operations to squeeze through rubble looking for survivors.

14 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. LOL ... by gstoddart · · Score: 3, Funny

    and capable of switching between hard and soft states

    Or, as penis implants for old men. ;-)

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    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:LOL ... by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Of the suggestion uses, this one stands out the most.

    2. Re:LOL ... by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      Of the suggestion uses, this one stands out the most.

      I see what you did there. ;-)

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  2. You know... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just because it was cool in the movie doesn't mean we have to build one.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  3. um... by Charliemopps · · Score: 3, Insightful

    um... ok, so its silicone rubber coated in wax. Heat the wax and the silicone can flex because the wax is fluid. Let it cool and the wax hardens. That doesn't sound even remotely durable to me. How is this useful?

    1. Re:um... by pitchpipe · · Score: 2

      um... ok, so its silicone rubber coated in wax. Heat the wax and the silicone can flex because the wax is fluid. Let it cool and the wax hardens. That doesn't sound even remotely durable to me. How is this useful?

      Didn't you watch the video?! It's just like the Terminator! Also, kittens, because they're cute and soft.

      I don't know why everybody has to be so skeptical nowadays.

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      Look where all this talking got us, baby.
    2. Re:um... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't know why everybody has to be so skeptical nowadays.

      Years of practice, now it no longer takes effort.

      Oh, and a world which constantly reinforces that outlook as being a good choice. ;-)

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    3. Re:um... by ByteSlicer · · Score: 2

      It's just like the Terminator

      It's a liquid that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the Terminator.

    4. Re:um... by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      How is this useful?

      Teledildonics?

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:um... by timrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      One thing I can think of is running wires through tight spaces. Put a small, snake-like "robot" made of this stuff with a camera on one end on a wire and use it to guide the wire through a small hole in the wall or ceiling. Make it deformable to go around corners, and rigid to go up walls. If it's cheap enough, there's plenty of electricians and cable installers who would probably buy one.

    6. Re:um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think you meant publication and grant-whoring for a professor.

      "... developed by [Professor] Anette Hosoi... and her former graduate student Nadia Cheng, alongside researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and Stony Brook University... working with robotics company Boston Dynamics..."

      oh, shit, Anette is a female name. of course i didn't mean grant-whoring, i meant... uh... grant-solicitation? oh, no, wait, that isn't any better. hmm.

  4. Deploy or die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If I had a dime for every one these "researchers made the next big thing" articles I'd use it to fund a web start-up that tracks all these claims so I could watch the PR buzz fizzle into obscurity time after time. The tally so far: solar panels should be 1456% efficient, LEDs 124% efficient, batteries should outperform gas in every metric, the world should be filled nano-tube everything, and robots should be flying all around me at this instant.

    What the headline should say is "University trolls for more funding..."

    1. Re:Deploy or die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      News at 10: research is all about discovering/designing the next big thing. It sure would be nice if everything we tried panned out, but surprise surprise, when you're pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and innovation, not everything does.

      So sit back and write your cushy web-apps, secure in your 20-year old stale tech, while those of us who are willing to risk something and look for something new actually do something for real progress.

      "Skeptics of 'the next-big-thing' on slashdot is getting to be an old shit-trope that doesn't belong here. First of all, it's cool tech. Second, it's cool science. And yes, you get some icing on that cake--there is potential there. Is it a sure thing? No, and nobody with half a brain is claiming or expects it to be. If you only want sure things, read a history book.

  5. Re: I gave a talk on this at DEFCON by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_WiShe0NOE
    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=wax+motor

    Paraffin wax is a known phase change material used in everything from washing machines, battery thermal management, automobiles, and thermostats. A project which has had moderate success with phase change materials is the Slocum Thermal glider which uses a PCM to harness thermal energy from the ocean.

    OpenGlider V0.1 used 4 silicone bladders full of paraffin wax for both attitude control and a high pressure buoyancy engine. Unfortunately there were some fundamental design problems with the energy storage system that forced the transition to a more traditional approach. IE: using electric motors in V0.2 & V0.3(currently in development).

    I think paraffin wax still has potential, but it's high specific heat translates to a large energy cost per cm^3 of volume change per dive cycle. My physics teacher discouraged my from pursuing PCMs because of the enthalpy losses, but without quantifying the losses it is difficult to do a cost benefit analysis on the design tradeoffs.

    The goal of the project is the design of a low cost underwater glider to increase access to oceanographic data collection.
    www.openglider.com