Saturday, January 28, 2023, 11:56 p.m
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Scientists from China and United States have created a microrobot that can change body shape using external magnetic fields. Researchers took inspiration from the T-1000 from Terminator 2 to create it, reports The Washington Post.
According to the scientists, the robot can “melt” to flow through the bars and then solidify again. The researchers believe their technology can be used to penetrate hard-to-reach places.
To be able to create a robot with such properties, they chose gallium, a metal that has a melting point of 29.76 degrees Celsius.
Into the gallium model they incorporated some magnetic particles and came up with what they called a “magnetoactive solid-liquid phase transition machine”. Magnetic particles, controlled by a device, can cool the material or heat it so that it changes state. They can also generate the robot’s ability to move, in any of the mentioned states.
The robot was unveiled as part of research into metal microparticles that can change shape, move quickly, be easily controlled and weigh many times the body’s own weight.
“This material can achieve characteristics similar to Terminator-2, including rapid movement and the ability to withstand high loads when in the solid state, as well as change shape in the liquid state. Potentially, this system can be used for applications in flexible electronics, medical care and robotics,” said one of the authors of the study, Chengfeng Pan, an engineer from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The scientists increased the temperature of the robot to 35 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, it changes from a solid state to a liquid state in one minute and 20 seconds. After the meltdown, the robot was able to penetrate the narrow spaces of the locked cage with the help of magnets, thus demonstrating the ability to transform.
According to the researchers, this is the first time a material capable of both changing shape and supporting heavy loads has been used to create a microrobot. In liquid form, the robot can stretch, split and merge. In the solid state, it can move at a speed of about five kilometers per hour and has carried heavy objects 30 times its own weight.
In another experiment, researchers created an artificial human stomach, and the robot was successfully used to remove an object from there, or insert one, without the need for surgery. The scientists guided the solid-shaped robot, less than 0.4 inches wide, through the fake organ until it located the foreign object. It was then melted by remotely controlled magnetic fields, stretched into its new liquid metal state around the object – and once it had safely contained it, it turned back into solid form, allowing it to tow the foreign object outside the room. These robots could also repair circuits, flow through sockets, perform the function of a screw, fix things and more.
