- University of Sheffield researchers have developed prototype robotic fabrics that can shrink, grow in size and move with precision
- Scientists demonstrate how groups of robotic modules - roughly the size of a 50p coin - move reliably when coupled together via elastic links
- Study is the first to couple a large number of robotic modules using an elastic mesh - forming an intelligent fabric that moves, shrinks and grows in size
- Research could lead to low-power robotic fabrics that navigate spaces inaccessible to humans, such as underground pipes, or even inside the human body for medical monitoring or treatment
Robotic fabrics that can shrink, grow in size and move with precision are becoming a reality, thanks to new research from scientists at the University of Sheffield.
The study, led by Dr Roderich Gross from the University's Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, has demonstrated for the first time how low-power robotic modules - approximately the size of a 50p coin - can connect together via an elastic mesh and move reliably in the same direction, forming an intelligent robotic fabric.
Published in Nature Communications, the study is the first to show that elastic links enable error-prone robotic modules to march in formation, outperforming modules that are rigidly linked, or not linked at all.
The Sheffield scientists say the research paves the way for the development of ultra-low-power robotic fabrics that navigate spaces inaccessible to humans such as underground water pipes to look for cracks, or that can shrink and be deployed inside the human body to provide medical monitoring or treatment.
The prototype fabrics developed in the study are made up of small robotic modules - known as Kilobots - that are low power and have low processing capabilities due to their limited size. Each Kilobot uses vibration motors to move, but cannot precisely control its own direction. When part of the elastic mesh, it communicates with other nearby modules such that the group collectively decides how best to move and behave.
