Scientists created a small “terminator 2” like a robot that is capable of melting and solidifying itself on command. While it’s nothing like T-1000, it has an interesting ability.
All about the terminator 2-like robot
Scientists created a tiny terminator 2-like robot cable for escaping from confined spaces. While it is not close to T-1000, the robot can melt itself and re-solidify. They made the robot using microscopic chunks of magnetic neodymium, iron, and boron and embedding them into liquid gallium. They also used magnetic for commanding the robot to melt. Upon melting, the robot transforms into a puddle and slithers away before reconstituting itself on the other side of a closed door.
“Giving robots the ability to switch between liquid and solid states endows them with more functionality,” stated Chengfeng Pan. Pan is an engineer at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The study was published in Matter on January 25. Additionally, the robot was inspired by sea cucumbers. The undersea organism is cable of switching between stiff and soft states for protecting themselves from the changes in their environment.
How does it work?
For the study, the scientists heated it using a bot through magnetic induction. They used a moving magnet to set up an electrical current inside the “terminator 2” robot. The current melts the gallium and the magnetic elements are attracted toward the magnet. The robot is being used for fixing circuits. Moreover, they can help by entering spots that are difficult to reach and transforming them into the solder. The product also has tremendous potential in the tech and medical fields.
“The magnetic particles here have two roles. One is that they make the material responsive to an alternating magnetic field, so you can, through induction, heat the material and cause the phase change. (mypatraining.com) But the magnetic particles also give the robots mobility and the ability to move in response to the magnetic field,” stated Carmel Majidi. Majidi is a mechanical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University and a senior author of the study.