Smart dielectric elastomers for self-healing soft robots

Robots that resemble organs are known as soft robots, and in order for them to function they must be made of a flexible material, however a material that can also heal itself would be a bonus if wear and tear was to occur. ...

A future of helpful engineered 'living' machines?

Engineered, autonomous machines combined with artificial intelligence have long been a staple of science fiction, and often in the role of villain like the Cylons in the "Battlestar Galactica" reboot, creatures composed of ...

Designing soft materials that mimic biological functions

Northwestern Engineering researchers have developed a theoretical model to design soft materials that demonstrate autonomous oscillating properties that mimic biological functions. The work could advance the design of responsive ...

The future of electronics is stretchy

Stretchable electronic circuits are critical for soft robotics, wearable technologies, and biomedical applications. The current ways of making them, though, have limited their potential.

New biomaterials can be fine-tuned for medical applications

Researchers in the UK and the United States have succeeded in 'fine tuning' a new thermoplastic biomaterial to enable both the rate at which it degrades in the body and its mechanical properties to be controlled independently.

Making mechanical skin

Soft, stretchable materials that are also electrically conductive are hard to come by. It's even harder to create a circuit that withstands damage, going as far as to heal itself. For Carnegie Mellon University researchers, ...

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