Scientists have created a robot capable of turning into liquid and reforming back into its original shape, a development that can herald new applications in healthcare and other fields; but it has also triggered comparisons with the antagonist from the Terminator movies as the substance can be made in a humanoid shape.
The innovation, detailed in the journal Matter on Jan. 25, was inspired by sea cucumbers. Traditional hard-bodied robots are stiff and rigid, making them strong, stable, and easy to control. In contrast, “soft” robots are flexible but are weak and difficult to control. The new material solves this problem. “Giving robots the ability to switch between liquid and solid states endows them with more functionality,” Chengfeng, an engineer at The Chinese University of Hong Kong who led the study said in a news release.
