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The world of robotics is getting more and more interesting. Not only are there robots that can shapeshift, but we’re also seeing soft robots that can melt after they’ve finished their job. Now, scientists in South Korea have created yet another self-destructing robot that melts away without a trace once its job is complete.
The researchers say they spent roughly two years working on the materials that they needed to create a self-destructing robot that can melt away without a trace. The soft robots they’ve designed are believed to be adaptable and versatile, allowing them to work in multiple scenarios. Once their job is completed, the soft robots simply dissolve into a liquid state, effectively disappearing afterward.
Like other soft robots with similar designs, these particular soft robots would most likely be useful for military-based surveillance missions, scouting, and even transporting sensitive data – which could be integrated into them. The robot’s ability to dissolve into nothing makes it easier to destroy its data if it falls into the wrong hands.
One of the problems facing these kinds of robots is the fact that those designed to melt away could simply be put back together using polyurethane, as they relied on thermoplastic elastomers to melt. However, these newly designed self-destructing robots utilized built-in UV LEDs, which initiate the heating process. After less than two-hours, the robot is completely melted and a residue of oil remains.
The design was created to be “highly deformable” and “fully degradable,” the researchers say. This particular design appears to be able to achieve the goal of a self-destructing robotic device that cannot be recovered once it has melted. Full details on the new soft robot can be found in a new paper published in Science Advances.
The post Crazy new self-destructing robots can carry out military tasks and then dissolve into nothing appeared first on BGR.
