Metamaterial that transforms from solid to liquid instantly

For decades, children and many adults have cowered in fear as the shapeshifting robot assassin T-1000 chased Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in the blockbuster movie "Terminator 2". However, this terrifying technology is about to become a reality after scientists created a complex form of shape-shifting material that can allow robots to change shape from hard/solid to soft/liquid in the blink of an eye.

In the movie "Terminator 2", the super-transforming robot assassin T-1000 is made of liquid metal and can heal itself. Photo: Tristar

In the 1991 film, the US secret service robot T-1000 is made of liquid metal, allowing him to transform into a liquid state, squeeze through confined spaces, and heal himself when injured.

The new material, created by Anette Hosoi, a professor of mechanical engineering and applied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is expected to be able to create real-life robots with similar features at low cost.

For example, Professor Hosoi’s metamaterial could be used to create morphing surgical robots that can move around the human body to reach a specific point without damaging any internal organs or blood vessels in the process. Robots made from this material could also be used in search and rescue operations, performing tasks of going deep into rubble to look for survivors.

To create a material that can shape-shift between solid and soft/wet states, Hosoi and her colleagues coated a foam rubber lattice with wax, she explains. They chose foam rubber because it can be compressed to a fraction of its normal size, but when released, it bounces back to its original shape.

Meanwhile, the wax coating can be transformed from a hard outer shell to a softer, more flexible surface by moderate heating. This can be done, says Professor Hosoi, by running an electrical wire along each waxed foam “strut,” before applying an electric current to heat and melt the surrounding wax. Turning off the current allows the material to cool and return to its previous hard, solid state.

Professor Hosoi's Cheap Supermorphic Material

According to Hosoi, in addition to transforming the material into a soft state, heating the wax in this way will also repair any damage.

The team created the shape-shifting metamaterial simply by dipping polyurethane foam into a bath of melted wax, says study co-author Nadia Cheng. They then compressed the foam structure to encourage it to absorb the wax. “A lot of material innovation can be very expensive, but this way you can buy polyurethane foam and some wax really cheaply from a craft store,” she says.

The wax coating can be replaced with a stronger material, such as solder.

The team is working with robotics experts to begin a project to create soft, wet robots that can squeeze through tight spaces and then expand back, like an octopus. However, these types of robots need to generate a reasonable amount of force, enough to impact the surroundings to perform the task.

According to vietnamnet