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A new Terminator-like skin that heals itself could lead to killer robots.
Stanford University scientists have developed synthetically made of skin silicone and polypropylene glycol materials that stretch like human skin without tearing, while the magnetic properties allow the skin to align itself.
When heated, both polymers soften and flow, solidifying as they cool.
When heated to just 158 degrees Fahrenheit, the self-alignment and healing takes place in about 24 hours.
The team said the skin could lead to “reconfigurable soft robots that can change shape and sense their deformation on demand, ultimately transforming warfare.
The team demonstrated how the stretchy skin works in a new video by placing three broken pieces of the robot on a table
Within moments, the pieces started moving towards each other and realigned into one piece
Co-author Chris Cooper, a PhD student, told SWS: ‘We have achieved what we believe is the first demonstration of a multi-layer, thin-film sensor that automatically realigns during healing.
“This is a critical step toward mimicking human skin, which has multiple layers that all reassemble correctly during the healing process.”
The team praised the skin as being the closest to the futuristic e-skin worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg character in “The Terminator” film franchise.
Cooper and his colleagues used the same layering technique of human skin to develop their innovation.
Co-author Dr Sam Root said: ‘One layer can feel pressure, another temperature and yet another tension.’
The layers can be designed to sense thermal, mechanical or electrical changes.
The backbone of each layer is formed by long molecular chains connected by dynamic hydrogen bonds – similar to those that hold the double helix of DNA strands together.
It allows repeated stretching without tearing – similar to latex
The researchers used silicone and PPG (polypropylene glycol). Both have mechanical and rubbery properties and biocompatibility.
The team hailed the skin as the closest to the futuristic e-skin worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg character in “The Terminator” movie franchise
The two materials are carefully designed to have similar viscous and elastic responses to external stress within an appropriate temperature range.
The skin also heals slowly. I recently cut my finger and it was still healing four or five days later,” Cooper said.
“For us, the most important thing is that it heals to restore functions without our input or effort.”
By adding magnetic materials, the prototype could also be assembled from separate pieces.
Cooper and his colleagues used the same layering technique of human skin to develop their innovation
Co-author Prof. Renee Zhao said: “Combined with magnetic field-guided navigation and induction heating, we may be able to build reconfigurable soft robots that can change shape and sense their deformation on demand.”
The skin’s long-term vision is on create devices that can recover from extreme damage.
Imagine, for example, a device that, when torn and dismembered, can autonomously reconstruct itself.’
He showed a short video of several pieces of layered synthetic skin submerged in water. Magnetically drawn together, the pieces creep towards each other and finally come back together.
Their electrical conductivity returns as they heal, and an LED mounted on top of the material glows to prove it.
The next step is to make the layers as thin as possible – and with different functions. The current prototype is designed to sense pressure. Additional layers applied to sense changes in temperature or voltage may be added.
In terms of a vision of the future, the team envisions robots that could be swallowed in pieces and then self-assemble in the body to perform non-invasive medical treatments.
Other applications include multi-sensory, self-healing electronic skins that mold to robots and give them a sense of touch.