Breakthrough in Robotics: Self-Healing Robots Inspired by Biology
A team of engineers from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has introduced a self-healing robot that can detect and repair damage autonomously. The device could contribute to the longevity of tomorrow’s robotics systems and electronic devices. Here’s how self-healing robots could become the norm and help to reduce waste, improve performance, and open the door for future innovations.
The idea of a robot healing itself sounds sci-fi, but with recent advancements in AI and other technologies, many researchers see this route as the best option. When you think of a self-healing robot, you may picture a rigid device scanning its body, locating damage, and then fixing it using some onboard tool or other devices.
The problem with this concept is that it would require the robot to have access to additional material to complete the repair. It’s not like the robot would carry spare parts for every component. As such, this concept can only work in very limited scenarios where replacement pieces are on hand.
Mimic Nature
Understanding these limitations, scientists looked towards the human body’s healing capabilities for a better solution. When you get injured, your body is capable of healing over time. As long as the injury isn’t too severe, your body can recognize the problem, like a small cut, and dedicate resources to heal the problem. In a few days or weeks, the injury is completely healed with minimal scarring.
New Study on Self-Healing Soft Robots Released at ICRA 2025
Recognizing that a new approach would be essential to enable self-healing robots, a team of engineers began to examine more human-like robotic solutions. This search led them to release the study1 “Intelligent Self-Healing Artificial Muscle: Mechanisms for Damage Detection and Autonomous Repair of Puncture Damage in Soft Robotics” at this year’s IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
This game-changing report delves into using soft robots as a means to accomplish self-healing tasks. Soft robots differ from traditional options in that they utilize flexible components that enable them to alter their shape and size, enabling them to accomplish unique tasks like morphing to navigate through a thin pipe.
The engineers used biomimicry to devise a soft robot that was similar to the human body in terms of layers. They began by introducing a multi-layer architecture. This approach relies on varying layers that accomplish different tasks but work together to enable the bot to duplicate the adaptive resilience of living organisms.
Source – University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Actuation Layer: How Self-Healing Robots Move
The outside is the actuation layer. This top layer is what enables the actuator to move. It relies on small pockets that get filled with pressurized water to initiate movement. This approach is ideal for soft robotics because it eliminates the need for motors or other rigid components that limit the soft robot’s capabilities.
Self-Healing Thermoplastic Layer Explained
The next layer is more rigid because it integrates a self-healing thermoplastic elastomer. This layer is responsible for introducing electromigration and thermal mechanisms to create physical discontinuities where damaged layers have caused electrical inconsistencies detected by the bottom layer.
Electronic Skin: The Damage-Sensing Layer
The bottom layer of this soft robot architecture is an electronic skin composed of LM microdroplets embedded within a silicone elastomer. This approach works like your nervous system in that it uses electrical current to monitor the surface continuity.
Specifically, there are liquid metal microdroplets embedded in a silicone elastomer that create conductive pathways. When damage is detected, the system can localize it and notify the middle layer, which then initiates its self-healing processes.
How Self-Healing Robots Detect and Repair Damage
The system recognizes this electrical footprint as evidence of damage, which initiates a higher current to the area. The higher current acts like a heating mechanism, heating up the area that has electrical inconsistencies due to damage.
The process then melts and reseals the middle layer, and through electromigration, the metal atoms are returned to a separate state, eliminating the short and sealing the injury. Notably, electromigration was always seen as a hindrance due to the gaps, which caused the current to stop.
This study represents the first time the process was seen as a benefit to the conductivity needs. The combination of electromigration and the heated Joule effect effectively allows the device to reset the damaged area and eliminate the current inconsistencies at the same time. Additionally, it ensures that the self-healing robot can heal itself multiple times without problems.
How Researchers Tested the Self-Healing Robot System
The engineers set up a series of tests to see if their self-healing robot could perform as predicted. The team began by setting up the device with electrodes to accurately measure changes. From there, they applied various types of damage. These effects included heavy pressure and cutting.
Results from the Self-Healing Robot Experiments
The self-healing soft robot was able to autonomously detect the damage and initiate a self-healing process. The device applied a small current ramp of 0.25 amps every 10 seconds until thermal migration initiated. The process was then repeated 6 times for each test, enabling in-depth monitoring of the damage repair across several scenarios.
Benefits of Self-Healing Soft Robotics
There are many benefits that self-healing electronics bring to the table. For one, they will help to improve the life expectancy of electrical devices. There are too many landfills overrun with damaged electronics. Self-healing soft robotics provides a better solution that can repair damage onsite, reducing costs and downtime.
Applications and Future of Self-Healing Robots
The self-healing robots study has the potential to revolutionize the robotics sector. There are several sectors that rely on robots, and the use of autonomous drones and other devices is on the rise. Consequently, self-healing capabilities could be exactly what’s needed to help push performance and longevity to the next level.
Self-Healing Robots in Robotics and Exploration
The obvious use for these discoveries is in the robotics sector. Robots that can self-heal would be ideal for exploration, search, and rescue tasks. Anywhere a robot could encounter some item that could cause danger, like a twig or sharp rock, is better suited for self-healing robots than traditional hard units.
Wearable Tech: A New Use Case for Self-Healing Materials
Another area where this technology could be useful is in the wearables sector. Wearables like smart watches undergo a lot of daily abuse. These devices need to be made to handle the rigorous schedule of their users and all the unexpected bumps and scratches that accompany it. Self-repairing wearables could be the perfect solution.
When Will Self-Healing Robots Be Available?
You could see self-repairing robots hit the market in the next 5-10 years. The soft robotics sector is a fast-growing industry that is just now beginning to gain traction. These devices are sure to get more support as their benefits and capabilities become more commonly understood.
Self-Healing Robots Researchers
The self-healing robots study was put forth by engineers from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The study lists Eric Markvicka, Ethan Krings, and Patrick McManigal as the primary contributors. Notably, the self-healing robotics report was one of only 39 out of 1,606 submissions selected as an ICRA 2025 Best Paper Award finalist.
Notably, the engineers received additional support from the National Science Foundation, NASA Nebraska Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, and the Nebraska Tobacco Settlement Biomedical Research Development Fund.
Investing in the Robotics Market
The robotics sector is one of the most innovative in the market. There is a host of contenders competing to create next-generation robotics that can help to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. Here’s one company leading the innovative charge.
ABB Ltd. (ABB +0%) is a global technology leader based in Switzerland. Its strong focus is on electrification, automation, and robotics. Founded in 1988 through the merger of ASEA (Sweden) and Brown, Boveri & Cie (Switzerland), ABB has grown into one of the most influential players in the industrial robotics sector.
The company’s robotics division has consistently pushed the boundaries of automation with advanced robotic arms, collaborative robots (cobots), and flexible manufacturing solutions. ABB’s commitment to adaptive robotics aligns well with emerging technologies like soft actuators, intelligent materials, and self-healing systems – the very innovations explored in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln study.
In recent years, ABB has ramped up its investment in smart and human-friendly robotics through partnerships with academic institutions and acquisitions of AI-driven automation startups. The company’s GoFa and YuMi cobots exemplify its strategy to develop robots that can safely work alongside humans – robots that could greatly benefit from self-healing materials to improve resilience and reduce downtime. As industries move toward more autonomous, flexible, and damage-tolerant systems, ABB stands at the forefront of enabling this next wave of robotics.
Investors looking to gain early exposure to the soft robotics boom may want to track companies like ABB or follow emerging startups in advanced materials.
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Self-Healing Soft Robots – Your Next Co-Worker
The drive to create soft robots that can detect and self-heal damage is in full swing. Manufacturers see these devices as an ideal solution to the world alongside humans without causing additional risks. When you add in the ability to detect and self-heal injuries, these devices become a game-changer.
Learn about other cool robotics breakthroughs here.
Studies Referenced:
1. Krings, E. J., McManigal, P., & Markvicka, E. J. (2025). Intelligent self-healing artificial muscle: Mechanisms for damage detection and autonomous repair of puncture damage in soft robotics. Proceedings of the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2591–2598. https://smr.unl.edu/papers/Krings_et_al-2025-ICRA.pdf