Robots, intelligent materials and their future impact on humans

The 19th century witnessed the accelerated development and widespread spread of the industrial process. In the 20th century, technology was transferred from laboratories and research institutes to its useful place. We are now about to enter an equally important era of new technological change: the robotic revolution.

So what is the robotic revolution and what will it bring us? "Robot" generally refers to a machine that can automate a series of complex actions, especially a machine that can be programmed by a computer. This definition refers in large part to the traditional robots seen in sci-fi films. But robots don't really need to be like people, have limbs, be able to move around or talk.

For robots, we have a broader understanding. The boundaries between smart materials, artificial intelligence, physical entities, biology and robots are becoming increasingly blurred, which is how robots will actually affect humans over the next 20-40 years.

From robots that can monitor and repair the natural environment to nano-robots that can track and kill cancer cells, from robots that lead planetary colonization to elderly escort robots that can ease loneliness, the impact of future robots on our society or our lives will be everywhere. Unlike traditional robots, which can be broken down into mechanical, electronic, and computational fields, we can view robots as consisting of three core components from a biological counterpart: the body, the brain, and the stomach.

The advantage of this artificial organism paradigm is that we are able to explore and transcend all the characteristics of biological organisms, and this can only be achieved through coordinated research on intelligent materials, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence and adaptability. Intelligent materials can have a visible effect in another area when stimulated by one area, covering all areas, including mechanical, electronic, chemical, optical, thermal, and so on. Intelligent materials can bring new functions to robots, especially artificial organisms. Need robots to be able to track chemicals? Intelligent materials that can alter electrical properties when exposed to chemical substances. Hope that the robotic device can be transplanted into the human body, but can be completely degraded after the completion of the work? Polymers that can be biodegradable, biologically appropriate, and selectively dissolved can be used. Intelligent materials are to a large extent the same as the set of physical features (stiffness, elasticity, viscosity) of biological tissue and the most advanced robotic soft technology, which can be achieved.

Intelligent materials can be divided into three categories: hydraulic and pneumatic soft systems; intelligent actuators and sensor materials; and variable stiffness materials. How will this robot appear in our lives? How will we interact with it and live together? We can predict smart skin, assistive medical devices, biodegradable environmental robots, or smart software robots. For example, a software robot can interact directly and perfectly with a biological tissue.

For intelligent materials that come into direct contact with the skin, intelligent materials that can integrate with human skin, including electrical connections and electronic components, a great deal of research needs to continue. Similarly, for frail, disabled, elderly people, the solution of the future is to be able to restore mobility of the dynamic auxiliary clothing. Finally, wearable assistive devices will be out of the traditional auxiliary device.

If you can walk again in a soft robotic power pants, how do you need a wheelchair? The software robot is so suitable for interacting with biological tissues that, naturally, it is possible to consider implanting the device into the human body to restore the function of diseased and damaged tissues and structures.

The bio-integrated software robot is in the R & amp; d phase and is expected to be used clinically over the next 10 to 15 years.

By exploring intelligent materials that are not only environmentally friendly but can be safely and completely degraded in the environment, we are able to achieve robots that can survive, die and degrade without damaging the environment. Just as the impact of the Internet was once unpredictable, we can't imagine where robots will take us in the future. Immersive virtual reality? Certainly. Can replace the human body? It's possible. Completely disintegrate life and society? It's very possible!

As we walk on the path of the robotic revolution, we will see that, over the past decade, robotics has truly developed rapidly, laying the foundation for our future world.