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Previously I discussed the newest breakthrough in synthetic muscles for robots that could let them walk like humans. But, there is still one major hurdle to cross before they are actually like us: the skin. It is everything to us. It makes us feel the wind outside, the sun on our face, and the warmth of fire. The skin also alerts us to our surroundings, with pain and pressure, or to the grip of objects in our hands. The eyes and ears relay a lot of information to us, however, what is hidden can still hurt us without us seeing or hearing anything. The same is for robots, they can hear and see through cameras and microphones, but they can still be hurt by something they did not notice. There is, however, a new solution to this.

First, in 2010 Paratech was developing artificial skin for MIT that could sense where the robot was touched and the pressure of this touch (Hornyak, 2010). This way a person could slap or tickle a robot and it would know the difference. This means that even when something hidden touches a robot, it could lead to a spontaneous retreat or cause the robot to use its eyes to search for the point of contact. This ability to react to touch is especially useful for robot helpers of people in constantly changing environments (Astrobio, 2011).

There is still one problem with the above: the robot would be able to feel pressure, but it would not feel when an object is moving. This would undoubtedly result in many broken things when having a robot cook for you. The researchers from the University of Washington made something for this, a new electronic skin that does just what is necessary: let a robot sense the movement of an object it is holding (through shearing forces). The way researchers developed a skin that senses this is by having it sense when one side of the skin becomes a bit tauter and the other side bulges (Coldewey, 2017). This sense of touch is critical for prosthetic and robotic applications (Langston, 2017). With this information a robot can adjust its grip and reposition the object it is holding. The result, fewer broken dishes.

Now, with one hurdle after another being overcome to having robot helpers. How long before we all have our personal robot Jeeves?

 

References

Astrobio. (2011, July 1). Sensitive skin for robots. Retrieved from Astrobio: https://www.astrobio.net/also-in-news/sensitive-skin-for-robots/

Coldewey, D. (2017, October 18). Robots will touch more tenderly when they wear this sensitive skin. Retrieved from Techcrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/17/robots-will-touch-more-tenderly-when-they-wear-this-sensitive-skin/

Hornyak, T. (2010, February 24). Robots to get sensitive with artificial skin. Retrieved from Cnet: https://www.cnet.com/news/robots-to-get-sensitive-with-artificial-skin/?_escaped_fragment_=

Langston, J. (2017, October 17). Flexible ‘skin’ can help robots, prosthetics perform everyday tasks by sensing shear force. Retrieved from University of Washington: http://www.washington.edu/news/2017/10/17/flexible-skin-can-help-robots-prosthetics-perform-everyday-tasks-by-sensing-shear-force/

 

 

 

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Currently there is a lot of news and research about AI. AI is already in use in many different cases, like Siri from Apple and Alexa from Amazon. AI does not have to function only from mobile phones or cylindrical devices. It can flourish as robots. Robots are already seen in many movies. From the Terminator to television shows like Westworld, where there is a park filled with robots and humans can live out their fantasies. This world might actually be closer than we think now that there has been a new breakthrough.

The breakthrough is related to the muscles that robots use to move. These muscles work through changing form by external stimuli, mimicking real muscles by contracting and extending. To better understand the extent of the breakthrough I first tell you a little bit about the history of synthetic muscles.  There were two types of muscles used in robots: pneumatic artificial muscles, and electro active polymers (Walter, 2016). Pneumatic artificial muscles are operated by blowing pressurised air into a bladder, contracting and extending as necessary. The electro active polymers on the other hand change in shape and size when stimulated by an electric field. The problem with the former artificial muscle is that it requires a compressor, limiting it to a practical size (Irving, 2017). With the latter the problem is that it requires a power output (Walter, 2016).

The new muscle that researchers from Columbia University have developed is able to function untethered, without the need of a compressor or high voltage equipment (Columbia engineering, 2017). Not only that, the new muscle is also able to be 3D printed. Furthermore, the muscle is three times stronger than natural muscle (Columbia Engineering, 2017). These muscles are perfect for soft material robotics. Robots that have a little more finesse and can grip soft objects like an egg (Jones, 2017). The researchers say that there is, however, one last milestone before replicating natural motion: involving AI to learn to control the muscle (Columbia engineering, 2017).

To conclude, the new breakthrough brings us closer to a different world. These soft robots can disrupt many different industries, from entertainment to healthcare. They can become a part of our everyday life. Until that day is here, I will continue watching the different shows and movies that feature them and fantasize about a world that just got a little bit closer to us.

References
Columbia Engineering. (2017, September 19). One step closer to lifelike robots. Retrieved from Engineering Columbia: http://engineering.columbia.edu/news/hod-lipson-lifelike-robots

Jones, B. (2017, September 19). New synthetic muscle puts us one step closer to lifelike robots. Retrieved from Futurism: https://futurism.com/new-synthetic-muscle-puts-us-one-step-closer-to-lifelike-robots/

Walter, M. (2016, June 6). Artificial muscles to bring relief to robotic tenseness. Retrieved from Hackaday: https://hackaday.com/2016/06/06/artificial-muscles-to-bring-relief-to-robotic-tenseness/