Create a robot for the first time that can 'sweat'

This is likely to be a breakthrough compared to previous engineering robots, creating a generation of robots capable of performing many tasks in high temperature environments.

Electrical - electronic devices when operating often generate heat. That's why computer systems need a blower or a car engine needs a radiator.

Robot automatically activates the mechanism of "sweat" - (Photo: SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN).

However, these two cooling mechanisms are only suitable for large devices, difficult to adapt to small robots, especially non-metal soft robots.

Recently, a research team from Cornell University (New York, USA) has initially developed a heat excretion mechanism like sweat in humans, thereby promising to create a robot that can work well in the lips. high temperature field.

According to Scientific American , today, besides metal robots, many scientists are conducting tests of soft robots with structures made from synthetic resins. Thanks to that, the robot achieves flexibility, less damage when facing friction.

The disadvantage of soft robots is that when the temperature is high, the material will harden, although they are more resistant to heat than metals. The Cornell University research team came up with a mechanism to optimize the workability of soft robots.

The team designed a soft robot made of prongs made of various materials that change shape as temperatures rise.

A hand model with fingers made of a material that can radiate heat by sweating - (Image: CNN)

Specifically, part of the barbs is made of the PNIPA polymer , which shrinks when the temperature reaches 40 ^° C. On the opposite structure, the acrylamide group can expand as the temperature rises, so that unfolds holes about 0.2 mm wide.

This structure allows the robot arm to swell and bend in one direction when the temperature is high, while the water taken from the system leads to the vent to release heat.

"The highlight of the system is that we can sweat by the structure of the material itself . We don't need any more heat sensors because the flaw is self-regulating , " said Thomas Wallin, Cornell University. co-author of the study - said.

To show the advantage, the team conducted experiments between two similar types of soft robots, one can "sweat" , one not.

Both robots are required to pick up a hot object. As a result, the device can radiate tasks 6 times faster than the competition.

The challenge of holding hot objects of new robots - (Photo: SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN)

Wallin adds that the robot's estimated heat excretion is up to three times the sweat escape performance of most animals.

"This is a wonderful discovery that makes it possible to create robots that simulate the power of living things," said Dr. Cecilia Laschi of the BioRobotics Institute (Italy).

Laschi also commented that sweat-escaping robots are a breakthrough compared to previous generations of engineering robots. With the ability to hold, soft robots have many advantages, especially in the case of direct contact with the human body.

The research, published in the journal Science Robotics , also raised an issue that the team needed to improve on whether the water-heating mechanism could reduce the device's friction.

According to Wallin, in order to solve this problem, the team is expected to design sticky lines in the future, describing the structure as in human hands to optimize grip.