What are Gelbots?

What are Gelbots?

Gelbots are made out of gelatin, capable of moving without requiring an extra power source because of the way their shape, dimensions and patterning of gel are designed and are reportedly a significant advance in the world of soft robotics.

• They are created by 3D printing and would be easy for mass production.

What is the Principle?

• The gels swell or shrink in response to temperature.
• This property can be strategically manipulated to move robots forward and backwards on flat surfaces or to have them crawl in certain directions with an undulating, wave-like motion.

What are the Potential application areas?  

• They can be used to create smart structures.
• Even they can be used for moving on surfaces through the human body to deliver targeted medicines.
• They could also be deployed as marine robots, patrolling and monitoring the ocean’s surface.
• Gelbots can be trained to crawl in response to variations in human biomarkers and biochemical.

Q1) What are the different types of robots?

The six most common types of robots are autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), articulated robots, humanoids, cobots, and hybrids.

Source: Science for All | What are ‘gelbots?’

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