If you’re like me, you know there’s one critical problem with robots: they’re not edible! Thankfully, that pesky shortcoming has been solved by scientists. We’re talking 100% edible, battery and actuators included (in multiple flavors, to boot).
Before you check the calendar, no, it’s not April Fool’s Day. Swiss scientists have created the world’s first truly edible soft robot. You can chew it up and swallow the entire thing without worry—though humans are not the target demographic. The future is now.
On the surface, the robot looks sort of like the straight Tetris block if it were made out of JELL-O. Instead of plastic and metal parts, the robot’s body, including the tubes for the pumps that make movement possible, is made from materials like wax and gelatin.
Just like many regular ol’ metal and plastic robots, this one moves by pumping gas into and out of chambers, causing the body to deform and move. The most fascinating part, though, is the edible battery. It’s a cylinder with separate compartments holding baking soda and liquid citric acid. A membrane made of baking soda keeps them apart.
When pressure is applied to the membrane, the acid mixes with the baking soda. This causes a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide—the propelling gas that allows the chambers to deform and move. It’s the same reaction you may have made in science class.
So, this is clearly very cool, but what’s the purpose? The original idea was to be able to give medication to wild animals that humans wouldn’t be able to get near safely. Wild boars are the example given by the scientists. Humans are currently getting a taste of the robots, though. Trials are underway for humans, complete with fruit-flavored actuators.
Project manager Dario Floreano points out that the real significance is the pneumatic battery and valve system itself.
If you look at it from the broader perspective of environmental and sustainable robotics, the pneumatic battery and valve system is a key enabling technology, because it’s compatible with all sorts of biodegradable pneumatic robots.
I never expected to write about edible robots, but here we are.
Advanced Science via NotebookCheck
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Robots that mimic the human body really only exist to either slot into a human-shaped space or make we mere fleshbags feel better. If you don’t have to follow that template, then you can make something far more efficient and terrifying. So all-hail our robot octopus overlords!