Using paper coated with silicon resin and iron particles, researchers created an untethered soft robot that can move without any electronics. This magnetically controlled device can detect heavy metal ions in water samples with a color-changing sensor on its back.
Video credits are available on YouTube.
Source article
“Magnetically Controllable Paper-Based Soft Robots for Colorimetric Detection of Heavy Metal Ions”
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Transcript
This little robotic elephant is made out of paper. It walks on small accordions that respond to a magnetic field and carries a sensor that changes color when exposed to heavy metals in water, like mercury. Scientists call this kind of device a soft robot. Soft robots are made of pliable materials that can squish and move in ways that rigid robots can't. Researchers wanted to use paper to create an untethered robot that could move without a motor. So they coated paper with a mixture of silicon resin and iron particles to make a flexible material that will bend and rotate under a magnetic field. And it maintains structural integrity after repeated folding and unfolding. The accordion-shaped legs and the detection hose are both magnetically controlled. So the robot can approach a water sample, take a sip and test for the presence of contaminants.
To embed this video, please visit YouTube and use the Share function.
;void(0);){kind=link}