All along, Many scientists are trying to find a safe way to power robots that are expected to work in the human body. However, it is not easy to invent a safe and harmless battery! This has become a bottleneck for many robot models to be applied to the body. There are several conditions that can be used to power a robot in the human body: First, it is safe and harmless; second, the volume is small; third, continuous battery life. The existing battery types are often toxic and harmful, and the volume is not small enough. If you reduce the size, it is difficult to meet the needs of continued battery life. As a result, some scientists have taken a different approach: Give up battery power and drive the robot in other ways. Researcher from Seoul National University A research result was published in Science Robotics not long ago. They are inspired by the way plants move, Developed a small robot that relies on humidity to operate. This robot no longer needs continuous power supply, By absorbing the moisture of the surrounding environment, you can move forward! At first glance, is it like a flattened caterpillar! It can travel on the surface in a similar posture of a ruler or a snake. Can crawl, crawl back and forth, and can be distorted! It is also possible to change shape and size by absorbing moisture from the ground or the air. Scientists call this robot hygrobot, Where hygro- represents humidity. As mentioned earlier, this robot is inspired by plants. This plant is actually a shrub plant in Africa - the wild sunflower. Rather, the researchers mimicked the mane of the wild sunflower seeds. The wild sunflower is itself a succulent plant. Its seeds can be drilled into the soil, And have multiple layers of cells, Some of these cell layers are sensitive to humidity, Other cell layers do not react when humidity changes. When the wild sunflower seeds meet the water vapor, the layer of cells affected by humidity will stretch or expand. This phenomenon is called dry shrinkage and swelling. At the same time, since other cell layers do not change, The external manifestation of a plant may be a rotating action. Pry the seed to the ground, or open and close, This process enables the seeds of the wild sunflower to reach the optimum state for spreading! The researchers are simulating this reaction of the wild sunflower to the ambient humidity. A two-layer material of the robot hygrobot itself was developed. This two-layer material is not made of plant material, but mimics the mechanism behind the plant. Made of nanofibers. One layer of the two-layer material absorbs moisture and the other layer does not. When the robot is placed on a damp surface, The hygroscopic layer expands, causing the robot to bow. Once dry, The robot will fall back and repeat the loop. In this way, the robot can move forward like the picture! Is it simple and magical? In fact, there are many plants similar to the wild sunflower, such as pine cones. The scales of the pine cones are tight when wet. Open when dry, The seeds inside it can also spread farther! Because the movement of plants is relatively slow, A simple bending straightening process can take a whole day. So the researchers used an active nanofiber to increase the surface area of ​​the absorber layer. Allows the robot to quickly absorb moisture from the air. In addition, we know that moisture in the air is an all-natural source of energy. No toxicity, unlike batteries that may explode, And this robot can effectively use the obvious humidity changes during the day and night. Don't even need solar energy, It looks very green and environmentally friendly! Although this robot is not fast enough, it seems to be relatively simple at present. But because the body size can be very small, You can use your own characteristics in a specific environment. The researchers once painted it with antibiotics in a petri dish filled with bacteria. Found that it can exercise and sterilize itself! Change the angle, if inside the human body, Researchers say the robot can perform tasks like disinfecting wounds, eliminating skin wrinkles, and promoting skin tissue metabolism. This is similar to another magnet-activated, battery-free robot that was researched by the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany. It is also possible to deliver the drug to the target location. Combined with the special environment of the human body, it can even be equipped with sensors to track the physical condition. This also makes Xiaobian think of last year, The research team at Jilin University has also developed an "insect-type quadruped robot" that does not require external electric power. By blowing the air through the pipette to change the humidity above it, it will curl and deform and then return to its original state. Repeated changes in humidity can also make it move. But obviously, unlike the robot hygrobot, it also requires a certain amount of external force. Currently, researchers are expanding the athletic capabilities of the robot hygrobot. It is equipped with a sensor that allows it to react to a specific gas. The team said that the robot hygrobot will also have the opportunity to be in military, industrial, Especially in the medical scene where the power shortage may cause a safety hazard! SHENZHEN CHONDEKUAI TECHNOLOGY CO.LTD , https://www.szfourinone.com
