Liquid Metal

Soft robots can operate in uncertain environments and interact with their surroundings without causing damage, due to their compliance. However, these robots lack sufficient strength to perform tasks that require them to push forcefully on their surroundings. We’re building shape-shifting robots that can change their form using metal that can melt to become compliant, or solidify to become stronger. We’re excited about how these robots can be applied to solve problems in medicine, industry, or human-robot interaction with competing demands for strength and deformability.

A hyper-redundant robot with liquid metal links and joints

 

Liquid metal spines can change the directions that non-linear tendons bend the robot