Robotics, Smart Materials, and Their Future Impact for Humans

摘要

What is a robot? What is a smart material? How can these two have so much impact on our future lives? In this article we will examine the true potential of robotics, and soft-smart robotics in particular. These technologies are set to turn our perceptions of what a robot is, and how it can help us and the world we live in, upside down. Instead of thinking of robots as large, rigid, and resilient machines, we can view future robots as artificial robotic organisms that have properties mimicking, and greatly extending, the capabilities of natural organisms. The unique properties of softness and compliance make these machines highly suited to interactions with delicate things, including the human body. In addition, we will touch upon concepts in emerging robotics that have not been considered, including their biodegradability and regenerative energy transduction. How these new technologies will ultimately drive robotics and the exact form of future robots is unknown, but here we can at least glimpse the future impact of robotics for humans.