Robots are not what we imagined. We might think that if we aren’t surrounded by robots like the ones in the cinema, it’s because we don’t have the technology and that it’s only a matter of time before we reach the sophistication they require. However, if we think like this, the future may disappoint us because there are more reasons that keep us away from humanoid robots. Without further ado, the Bremen University of Applied Sciences has just announced a new star-based design. They’re structures for now, but with potential applications in robotics, and their creator, a PhD student named Raman, announced the discovery during a recent meeting Annual Conference of Experimental Biology.
For Raman, the reason is clear: “Starfish have a remarkable ability to easily hold themselves in any body position by changing the stiffness of their endoskeleton.” Because although many people think that invertebrates don’t have a skeleton, the truth is that they do, and sometimes it’s inside their body, like starfish. In fact, in some coastal markets we can find “preparated” starfish, completely rigid, almost as if they were made of stone. This is their skeleton and is key to understanding how they move and how they designed these “4D transformation structures,” as experts called them.
The functional units of this skeleton are called ossicles, small pieces of calcium carbonate (the same material that makes up egg shells and shells), specifically in the form of calcite and traces of other substances such as magnesium carbonate. The bones are microscopic, but they are connected to each other by a network of a particularly tough type of collagen that binds them together into a skeletal system. It is this linking of the ossicons that gives stars a certain flexibility of body movements and postures, as well as the ability to lock into a posture, a balance that other invertebrates cannot manage.
In fact, this system not only gives them versatility of movement and strength, but is particularly efficient in terms of energy consumption. And it’s already on every tech fan’s radar because it’s the triad that the sector particularly craves: versatility, reliability and efficiency. “We were fascinated by this biological solution to a complex engineering problem,” says Mr. Raman. “Our goal was to unlock the secrets of its complex skeleton and translate these principles into a new material with similar, remarkable properties.” And thanks to their efforts, they are already achieving it.
The scientists decided to study the internal structure of the star using a series of X-rays and then analyze its components using mathematical models to understand its complex mechanics.. It is the first time that this system of bones has been so thoroughly explored, and therefore the first time that a structure so inspired by them has been developed.
The structure was produced using 3D printing and, according to the researchers, “exhibits the properties of self-locking, continuous bending, self-healing and shape memory.” Very interesting properties for the development of robotic parts, which complement another desired characteristic: economy. These structures are not only relatively inexpensive, but also easy to fabricate and highly scalable, qualities that often separate successes achieved in the laboratory from those achieved on the market. So who knows, the robots of the future may look less like what we want and more like starfish.
- When they refer to a 4D structure, they incorporate time into three classical dimensions: width, height, and depth. And over time, they actually refer to the changes these structures go through to adapt. In other words: it means that they are not immutable, but this has nothing to do with higher problems, such as the fourth spatial dimension.
- Congressional Communications annual conference of the Society for Experimental Biology in Prague (July 2-5, 2024)
