Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2023 - 10

5Wsof a
Who
A team of researchers at Cornell Engineering has
developed a soft robot that can detect when and
where it was damaged - and then heal itself on
the spot.
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What
Led by Rob Shepherd, Associate Professor of mechanical
and aerospace engineering, the team
combined optical sensors with a composite material
to create the soft robot. For years, Shepherd's
Organic Robotics Lab has used stretchable fiber-optic
sensors to make soft robots as nimble and
practical as possible. In fiber-optic sensors, light
from a LED is sent through an optical waveguide,
and a photodiode detects changes in the beam's
intensity to determine when the material is being
Wsheadline headline
headline headline line
Self-Healing Robot
Researchers installed SHeaLDS in a soft robot resembling a four-legged
starfish and equipped with feedback control. After the researchers
punctured one of its legs, the robot was able to detect the damage and
self-heal the cuts. (Image: Cornell University)
deformed. One of the virtues of the technology is that waveguides are still able to propagate light if they are punctured
or cut. The researchers combined the sensors with a polyurethane urea elastomer that incorporated hydrogen
bonds, for rapid healing, and disulfide exchanges, for strength. The resulting SHeaLDS - self-healing light guides
for dynamic sensing - provide reliable dynamic sensing, are damage-resistant, and can self-heal from cuts at room
temperature without any external intervention.
Where
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Why
To make robots more enduring and agile. If robots are going to venture into remote environments that humans can't
reach, such as deep underwater or distant outer space, they won't only require power and a means to get there.
They'll also need to be able to repair themselves.
When
Shepherd plans to integrate the SHeaLDS with machine learning algorithms that recognize tactile events to eventually
create " a very enduring robot that has a self-healing skin but uses the same skin to feel its environment to be able
to do more tasks. "
Contact Prabhpreet Gill, Technology Licensing Associate, Office of Technology Licensing, at psgill@princeton.edu,
609-258-3653, or visit https://innovation.princeton.edu
For more information, contact Becka Bowyer at rpb224@cornell.edu or 607-220-4185.
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