A rubber computer eliminates the last hard components from soft robots

A rubber computer eliminates the last hard components from soft robots

A soft robot, which is attached to a balloon and submerged in a transparent column of water, dives, and surfaces, then diving and the surface flies like a fish again. 

Soft Robot has already made such a move. But unlike most soft robots, it is made and operated without any harsh or electronic parts. Inside, a soft, rubber computer tells the balloon that when it is to climb or descend.

 For the first time, this robot depends exclusively on soft digital logic.

In the last decade, the soft robot has increased the metal-leading world of robotics. 

The grips made of rubber silicon material are already used in assembly lines: Cushion toes handle delicate fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, celery, and sausage links, or bottles and crisps from the crate.

 In laboratories, grippers can pick up slippery fish, live mice, and even worms while eliminating the need for more human contact.

Soft robots already require simple control systems compared to their hard counterparts.

 The grips are very compliant, they can not just put enough pressure to harm one object, and without the need to separate the pressure, there is a simple on-off switch.

 But till now, most soft robots still rely on some hardware: metal valves are open and closed channels of air which operate rubber gripper and weapons, and a computer tells those valves when to move.

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Now, researchers have just made a soft computer using rubber and air. "We are simulating the thought process of an electronic computer, using only soft materials and pneumatic signals, electronics are changing with pressure air," Daniel J. Preston is the first author on a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and says a postdoctoral researcher working with George Whiteside, Woodford L. and NA Flowers University professor.

For decision-making, computers use digital logic gates, electronic circuits that receive messages and determine reactions based on their programming. Our circuitry is not so different: when a doctor kills one tendon under our neck cap, then the nervous system is programmed to blow our foot (output).

Preston's soft computer imitates this system using silicon tubing and pressure air. In order to obtain the minimum type of logic gates required for such complex operations - in this case, no, and, and - they program soft valves to respond to different air pressures.

 Not for the logic gate, for example, if the input is high pressure, the output will be low pressure. With these three logic gates, Preston says, "You can repeat any behavior you found on an electronic computer."

For example, a robotic fish like a barking fish in a water tank uses an environmental pressure sensor (not a modified gate) to determine whether action should be taken. When the circuit experiences low pressure at the top of the tank and robots dive when there is a high-pressure sensitivity in depth. 

If someone pushes the external soft button, then the robot can also surf the command.

Only robots built with soft parts have many advantages. In industrial settings, like automobile factories, large-scale metal machines work with blind speed and power. 

If a human is on the way, then a difficult robot can cause irreparable damage. But if a soft robot hits a human, then Preston says, "You will not have to worry about injury or any frightening failure." They can only put so much force.

But soft robots are more than just safe: They are usually resistant to lightweight, damage, and corrosive materials, and durable to make cheaper and simpler. Wisdom and soft robots can be used more by handling tomatoes.

 For example, a robot can understand a user's temperature and can deliver a soft squeeze to indicate a fever, alert a diver when the pressure of the water increases a lot, or to find the victims To provide further assistance, pushing through the debris after a natural disaster.

Soft robots can also venture where electronics conflict: high radiation regions produced after nuclear radiation or in outer space and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.

 In the wake of storms or floods, a Hardy soft robot can handle hazardous terrain and toxic air. "If it's run by a car, then it just keeps running, which is something we do not have near a difficult robot," Preston says.

Preston and colleague are not the first person to control robots without electronics. Other research teams have developed microfluidic circuits, which can use liquid and air, which make electronic logic gates. A microfluidic oscillator helped all eight sides of a soft octopus-shaped robot.

Nevertheless, microfluidic logic circuits often rely on harsh materials like glass or hard plastics, and they use thin channels that can slow down the speed of the robot and move the air in just a small amount at a time. 

Compared to this, Preston's channels are large - close to one millimeter in diameter - which enables very quick rates of air flow. His air-based gripper can catch some object in a few seconds.

Microfluidic circuits are also less energy efficient. Even at rest, the devices use a pneumatic blocker, which either uses a vacuum or pressure source to flush the air from the atmosphere.

 No power input is required when Preston's circuit is disabled. Such energy conservation can be important in emergency or disaster situations where robots travel far away from a reliable energy source.

Rubber robots also offer a fascinating possibility: invisibility. Depending on which material Preston chooses, he can design a robot that is indexed with a particular substance.

 Therefore, if he selects the camouflage material in the water, then the robot will appear transparent when submerged. In the future, he and his colleagues are hopeful of creating autonomous robots who are invisible to detect naked eyes or goldsmiths. "It's a matter of choosing the right stuff," he says.

For Preston, the right materials are elastomers (or rubbers). While in other areas high power is pursued with machine learning and artificial intelligence, the Whiteside team is away from increasing complexity.

There is a lot of potentials," says Preston, "but it is also good to take a step back and think about whether there is a simple way of doing things that give you similar results, especially if it is not just simple So it is also cheap. "