A new study published in the scientific journal, Physical Review Letters, reveals a “microscopic phenomenon” that enables hydrogel to contract faster. The discovery, called Continuum Poroelastic Theory, could have major implications for many industries, including soft robotics. It could hold the key to making these devices lighter and more agile. Here”s what you need to know.
Hydrogel
Hydrogel is a flexible, water-insulable material composed of tight polymer chains. These chains can absorb fluids and retain them efficiently. When in this state, hydrogel is composed of mostly water. Hydrogels can then release the stored fluids and contract under stimulus. This stimulus can be chemical such as changes in the pH or atmospheric such as temperature or field changes.
- Source – Scientific Journal Physical Review Letters
Hydrogel has soft, flexible characteristics and can be found in your hair gel, toothpaste, cosmetics, and other water-voluminous solutions. It’s also commonly used in health care for wound dressing, burn care, and more. For robots, it could serve as a reliable replacement for heavier alternatives like plastics.
Hydrogel Upgrades to Non-Compliant Robots
Non-compliant, or soft robots, are made of various bendable materials, enabling them to accomplish unique tasks. These purpose-built devices can fit into tight spaces, navigate complex ruins, and even help with drug delivery. according to researchers, hydrogels could replace rubbers and hydraulic components in soft robots in the future.
Soft robots have a major advantage over their rigid counterparts when discussing certain applications. For one, they can conform to distribute their pressure over a wider space, enabling them to have a softer touch. When these advantages are combined with the ability to adjust to fit nearly any environment, soft robots become the prime solution for specific tasks.
Current Systems
Hydraulics and pneumatic systems currently dominate the robotics industry. They are reliable and have been around for decades in many forms. However, there are significant drawbacks to these systems, especially when discussing miniaturized and non-compliant robotics.
For example, non-compliant robots that rely on these systems to change shape must integrate hoses, lines, and pumps. These items can be nearly impossible to create at microscopic levels. Even when scaled up, every pump and hose adds weight to these tiny devices. Weight reduces a robot’s battery life, travel capabilities, and more. Consequently, the researcher’s hydrogel discovery could help robots operate with more versatility while optimizing weight and enabling new use case scenarios.
They believe their breakthrough could catapult non-compliant robotics into the future enabling more efficiency, and agility while reducing weight. Hydrogels could replace rubbers for multiple reasons. The main benefits are that they are lighter and eliminate the need for hydraulic or pneumatic systems. As such, they make soft robots less complex to build.
Microscopic Phenomenon
The researchers describe the discovery of a microscopic phenomenon learned while examining the expansion and contraction of hydrogels under various conditions. The “Continuum Poroelastic Theory” introduces a hydrogel-centric solution that hits all the checkboxes for microrobotics. It’s lightweight, reliable, controllable, and easier to create than current options.
Hydrogel Research Details
Researchers began by creating a slim layer of hydrogel film. This porous layer allowed water and ions to pass freely under certain conditions. The first abnormality observed was that a process known as gel diffusiophoresis causes a sudden increase in the gel’s osmotic pressure. The diffusiophoresis process made the hydrogel swell instantly when ions were introduced.
Notably, the hydrogel shrinks to its original size after dispelling the liquid. The ion-infused hydrogels expanded and contracted hundreds of times faster than the original methods. Additionally, the data revealed that the diffusion-phoretic swelling method was far more efficient.
Raised Agility
Researchers are excited because the discovery could help to make soft robots more agile. For example, it’s been a goal to create a robotic hand with the dexterity and agility of human hands. The team believes this discovery could be a vital step in making it possible. If successful, soft robots will inherit many more human contact-related tasks in the coming years.
Bigger Robots
Another major discovery is that the hydrogel could be used to create larger soft robots. Currently, most soft robots are limited to microscopic sizes. The added power and reduced weight of hydrogel enable these devices to scale up to as large as a centimeter. Notably, it’s common for tiny robots to work in swarms to improve efficiency.
Real-World Applications for Hydrogel Soft Robots
There are many real-world applications for soft robots. Today, these devices can be found picking fruit, sorting warehouses, and in the future, conducting healthcare tasks. Here are the main sectors that soft robotics continues to impact.
Manufacturing
The most prominent industry for soft robot integrations is manufacturing. Here, you can find hand-like devices used on conveyor belts. These units can pick up delicate items and place them into packaging or sort them into specific categories. In the future, these robots will be able to “feel” what they pick up using advanced sensors and AI.
Search and Rescue
Soft robots could play a vital role in helping to find survivors of natural disasters. It’s common to learn that debris hampered rescue efforts and resulted in additional casualties following major disasters. Non-compliant robots could snake through disaster zones and use advanced sensors to locate survivors faster. These robots could help survivors communicate and even deliver life-saving supplies when needed.
Exploration
Non-compliant robots could also make exploration more efficient. Robots are the future of deep space and sea exploration. They can go deeper, travel further, and provide more valuable data than human passengers. Soft robots, in particular, could access never-before-seen locations like ocean depths because they can conform to the pressure and enable them to further research efforts into new scientific fields.
Healthcare
There are many healthcare applications for soft robots. These devices could help deliver medications, fight disease, purify water, and much more. The field of bio-robotics continues to create innovative hybrid machines that use living tissue as part of their core components. These devices could one day enhance the lives of millions by making prosthetics that are unnoticeable to the wearer and many other life-benefiting upgrades.
Leading Robotics Companies
The robotics industry is a fast-paced market that used to be dominated by only a few key players, such as Boston Dynamics. Today, there’s far more selection, as the market now includes a variety of fields. Here are some robotics firms that could leverage hydrogels to improve their offerings.
1. Intuitive Surgical 
Intuitive Surgical is a pioneer in the robotics healthcare market. This unique firm has a variety of products and services that make it stand out, including surgical assistants, Da Vinci and Ion. These high-tech solutions help to drive minimally invasive surgeries. Notably, the latest Da Vinci upgrade enables surgeons to feel incisions via feedback and more.
Intuitive Surgical is a strong addition to any portfolio. The US-based firm is part of the NASDAQ-100 and S&P 500. Additionally, their services are in high demand. Specifically, the company lists +8,600 Da Vinci systems deployed internationally. Consequently, Intuitive Surgical has earned a reputation as a global technology leader in the robotics field.
2. UiPath 
UiPath is a robotic process automation (RPA) software firm. The company creates programs that enable robots to learn repetitive tasks and then take them over from human counterparts. It was founded in Romania and moved to New York as it grew into a major market competitor. Today, it’s the leading RPA software provider in the world.
UiPath became the market frontrunner due to its consistency and performance. The company has repeatedly proven its services can help streamline enterprise activities for multiple high-level clients including Canon, EY, VITAL, and TQL. Additionally, the company has several features in Forbes. All these factors make UiPath a stock worth watching.
Problems with Soft Robots
Soft robots have some issues that need to be overcome to achieve large-scale adoption. For one, they don’t have the rugged durability or performance of their solid counterparts. There are also some concerns when discussing controlling robots with infinite degrees of motion. Modeling these devices’ movements requires a lot of innovation and time. Companies like UiPath will certainly play an increasingly crucial role in developing soft robot control systems in the future.
Researchers
The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Virginia Tech physicist, C. Nadir Kaplan and doctoral candidate, Chinmay Katke. Notably, the pair was assisted by Professor C. Nadir Kaplan and Peter A. Korevaar from Radboud University in the Netherlands.
Hydrogel Could Make Soft Robots More Useful
The team behind the hydrogel discovery may have just unlocked the key to making soft robots more useful. Hydrogels could replace rubbers, hydraulics, actuators, and other heavier, more complex alternatives. For these reasons, this research can be considered a major breakthrough worth following in the future.
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