Is this material anything like that they want to use on next-generation robots?
NASA is developing 'soft robots' that look like inflatable 'aliens'
LiveScience, via FoxNews.com/science ^ | May 9, 2019 | Elizabeth Howell, Live Science ContributorThink robots are all square corners and rigid metal parts? Think again.
Two interns at NASA are part of a larger group working on "soft robots" that could be used for exploring worlds beyond Earth.
This includes the moon, NASA's next major destination for astronauts.
The advantage of a soft robot is that it's flexible and, in some ways, better able to adapt to new environments.
Soft robots move in ways similar to living organisms, which expands their range of motion, perhaps making it easier to squeeze into a tight spot, for example. ..."
"By design, the actuator has chambers, or air bladders, that expand and compress based on the amount of air in them," NASA said in the statement.
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NASA-funded inflatable robots are safe in space, and in homes
Brigham Young UniversityPublished on Mar 21, 2019
Working with a grant from NASA, BYU engineers (led by mechanical engineering professor Marc Killpack) are programming inflatable robots so that they can be used in everything from space research to home care.
Because they are inflatable, these robots — like BYU’s King Louie - can operate safely in homes and around people where rigid robots might cause injury to people or structures. ..."
