How Silver is Improving Soft Robots
When most people think of robots, they imagine these stiff, hard-to-move objects. Nevertheless, that could not be further away from the truth today. Technology advancements allow us to make robots that move, act, and even look like humans. The latest improvement in robotics technology is the use of silver for improving soft robots.
What is Soft Robotics?
Soft robotics is a subfield of robotics that deals with the construction of robots using highly compliant materials similar to those found in living organisms. These robots draw inspiration from how living organisms move and adapt to their surroundings, trying their best to copy and mimic these behaviors.
Unlike robots made from rigid materials, soft robots use silver to allow increased flexibility and adaptability. This makes them excellent at completing specific tasks and working seemingly among humans. These primary characteristics make them so attractive for medicine and manufacturing, but robot manufacturers are looking at even more ways to incorporate these robots into society.
How Silver is Improving Conductivity
For decades, robotics experts and scientists have been studying the use of silver in soft robotic applications. One of the latest developments includes a new silver-hydrogel that offers high electrical conductivity, which could improve the technology available for wearable computing and other human-machine interfaces.
The critical element here is silver flakes, which scientists used to create the hydrogel. The flakes can be made to stick or break apart by manipulating the dehydration and hydration process. In the dehydration process, the silver flakes form reversible electrical connections with many applications in bioelectronics and soft robotics.
In essence, the electrical charge these silver flakes generate when dehydrating and hydrating over again mimics nervous tissue on the skin. Scientists believe this could have many medical applications to help treat motor disabilities and muscular disorders.
However, truthfully, the applications of soft robots with such a level of flexibility and conductivity can be applied elsewhere. For example, we can develop soft robots that resemble different marine species using silver flakes, making them less disruptive to ecosystems. This will allow scientists to explore, collect, photograph, and detect changes in marine life to understand climate change and other migrations.
What is Next
The future seems very promising for soft robots. With new ways of integrating materials such as silver into the production of these creatures and finding new applications for this technology, soon, we will all be wearing or seeing soft robots using silver near us.