What Was Observed? (Introduction)

• Biological organisms, like reptiles, crustaceans, and insects, can adapt by changing their body shape. This includes self-amputation (cutting off parts of the body) and fusion (joining with others).
• For example, a lizard will shed its tail to escape a predator, and ants can temporarily fuse together to build bridges.
• This research focuses on creating a machine that can also self-amputate and fuse parts together, much like these animals.

What is Self-Amputation and Interfusion?

• Self-amputation is when an organism intentionally sheds part of its body to escape danger, like a lizard losing its tail.
• Interfusion is when separate individuals or parts temporarily join together to work as a group, like ants forming a bridge to cross a gap.
• These mechanisms allow for greater flexibility and survival in changing environments.

What is the New Technology in This Research?

• The research introduces a new type of reversible joint for robots that allows parts to attach and detach easily without human help.
• The joint is made of a special material that can change from solid to liquid with heat, allowing parts to fuse and separate.
• This joint can be used in soft robots, where flexibility is crucial, and it mimics the way animals adapt their bodies for survival.

How Does the Reversible Joint Work? (Methods)

• The joint uses a material called thermoplastic elastomer, which can change its stiffness with heat.
• The joint is designed with a foam structure that allows it to melt and fuse when heated. Once it cools, the joint becomes solid again, holding the parts together.
• This allows soft robots to attach and detach their body parts when needed, just like self-amputating animals or ants that fuse to work together.

What is the Demonstration? (Results)

• In one demonstration, a soft quadruped robot was able to self-amputate a limb when it got stuck under a rock. The robot heated its joint to detach the limb and walked away with three legs.
• This shows that robots can adapt in real-time to dangerous situations, just like animals that shed limbs to escape threats.
• Another demonstration showed multiple soft robots fusing together to form a larger structure that could cross a gap. After crossing, the robots detached and went their separate ways.
• This shows how robots can work together and change shape to complete tasks, just like ants form bridges to cross gaps.

Key Features of the Reversible Joint

• The joint can be heated to break the connection and cooled to reconnect, making it reusable multiple times.
• The strength of the joint can be adjusted by changing the temperature, allowing for easy attachment and detachment.
• The joint is strong enough to hold parts together during movement, but weak enough to break apart when necessary.

How Strong and Reliable is the Reversible Joint?

• Tests showed that the joint can withstand significant forces before breaking, making it suitable for soft robots that need to move and carry loads.
• The joint can also handle many cycles of attachment and detachment without losing strength, which is important for long-term use in robots.
• Even after multiple cycles, the joint maintained a large portion of its original strength, making it reliable over time.

Applications of the Reversible Joint in Soft Robotics

• The joint allows robots to adapt to different situations by changing shape and removing parts when necessary (self-amputation) or working together with other robots (interfusion).
• This is especially useful in environments where robots face unexpected challenges, like getting trapped or needing to work together to move something heavy.
• The technology could lead to robots that can recover from damage or adapt to difficult environments without human intervention.

Conclusion

• This work demonstrates the potential of soft robots with reversible joints to perform complex tasks that involve changing shape or removing parts, much like animals do for survival.
• The ability to self-amputate and fuse with other robots opens new possibilities for robots to navigate dangerous environments and work together as a group.
• The research shows how bio-inspired technology can create more adaptable and autonomous robots, with potential applications in real-world scenarios like disaster response or rescue missions.

观察到什么？ (引言)

• 许多生物体能够通过改变其体形适应环境，例如通过自我截肢和融合来应对威胁。
• 例如，蜥蜴会自愿切掉尾巴逃脱捕食者，蚂蚁会临时融合形成桥梁。
• 本研究致力于创建一种也能自我截肢和融合的机器，类似这些动物的行为。

什么是自我截肢和融合？

• 自我截肢是指一个生物为了逃避危险而主动丢弃身体的一部分，就像蜥蜴失去尾巴。
• 融合是指单独的个体或部分临时连接在一起，像蚂蚁通过形成桥梁跨越缝隙。
• 这些机制使生物能够更好地适应并生存于变化的环境中。

这项研究中的新技术是什么？

• 本研究引入了一种新型可逆接头，允许机器人部件在不需要人工帮助的情况下轻松连接和分离。
• 该接头由一种特殊的材料制成，可以通过加热从固态变为液态，从而实现部件的融合和分离。
• 这种接头可以应用于软机器人，这些机器人需要极大的灵活性，正如动物为了生存适应其身体。

可逆接头是如何工作的？ (方法)

• 该接头使用了一种热响应性热塑性弹性体材料，可以通过加热改变其硬度。
• 接头采用泡沫结构，使其在加热时融化并融合。冷却后，接头会再次变为固体，从而将部件连接在一起。
• 这使得软机器人在需要时可以连接和断开部件，就像自我截肢的动物或蚂蚁在工作时会融合在一起。

演示的结果是什么？

• 在一次演示中，一台软体四足机器人能够在卡在岩石下时自我截肢。它通过加热接头来分离肢体，并以三条腿继续走。
• 这表明机器人可以实时适应危险情况，就像动物为了逃避威胁而丢弃肢体。
• 另一次演示展示了多个软机器人通过融合在一起，跨越了一个单个机器人无法跨越的空隙。在成功跨越后，这些机器人又分开。
• 这表明机器人可以协作工作，改变形状以完成任务，就像蚂蚁通过形成桥梁跨越缝隙。

可逆接头的主要特点

• 该接头可以通过加热来打破连接，通过冷却来重新连接，使其可以多次重复使用。
• 接头的强度可以通过改变温度来调节，从而使连接和分离变得容易。
• 接头足够强大，能够在运动中保持部件连接，但在需要时也足够弱，可以轻松分离。

可逆接头有多强和可靠？

• 测试表明，接头在断开前可以承受相当大的力量，使其适用于需要移动和承载负载的软机器人。
• 该接头还能够承受多次的连接和断开，而不失去强度，这对于机器人的长期使用至关重要。
• 即使经过多次循环，接头仍保持了大部分原始强度，因此它在长期使用中的可靠性得到了保证。

软机器人中可逆接头的应用

• 该接头允许机器人通过改变形状和去除部件来适应不同的情况（自我截肢），或与其他机器人协作（融合）。
• 这在机器人面临意外挑战的环境中尤其有用，比如被困或需要与其他机器人一起搬运重物。
• 这项技术可以让机器人在没有人工干预的情况下恢复损伤或适应困难的环境。

结论

• 本研究展示了软机器人通过可逆接头进行形态变化的潜力，例如去除部分部件或与其他机器人融合，就像动物为了生存而适应自己的身体。
• 自我截肢和与其他机器人融合的能力为机器人提供了在危险环境中适应和应对的能力。
• 该研究表明，仿生技术能够创造更具适应性和自主性的机器人，具有灾难响应或救援任务等实际应用的潜力。