Shape-changing robot promises targeted drug delivery

Researchers at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and City University of Hong Kong are said to have combined cardiac tissue engineering, a 3D-printed wing structure and a light-sensitive gel to produce the soft robot. The switchable device transforms its shape when exposed to skin-penetrating near-infrared light, causing it to start and stop through fluid environments like the human bloodstream.

The team in Hong Kong produced the original robot design and performed the experimental tests. In the US, researchers performed mechanical and numerical analysis on the device.

"With this technology we can create soft transformable robots with unprecedented manoeuvrability," said Zi Chen, an assistant professor of engineering at Thayer.

The new study is said to be part of a long-term effort to develop robots that mimic shape-changing behaviours found in nature. To be effective, the new generation of robots need to be energy efficient and able to respond to stimuli such as light or heat.