Scientists Develop Self-Healing Material for Prosthetic Limbs

A team of researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed self-healing, biodegradable, 3D-printed materials that could be used in the development of realistic artificial hands as well as aid in other soft robotics applications.

According to a report by TechXplore, the jelly-like materials developed using salt are not only cost-effective but can also sense a variety of changes including pressure, humidity, temperature. Furthermore, unlike previously developed self-healing robots, they can also partially repair themselves at room temperature.

David Hardman, the paper’s first author from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, said:

Incorporating soft sensors into robotics allows us to get a lot more information from them, like how strain on our muscles allows our brains to get information about the state of our bodies.

As part of the EU-funded SHERO project, funded under the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) program of the European Commission, Hardman, and his colleagues have been working to develop soft sensing and self-healing materials for robotic hands and arms.

These materials can not only detect their own damage but can also take the necessary steps to temporarily repair themselves and resume work, eliminating the need for human intervention, altogether.

Why Soft-sensing Tech is Useful

Earlier versions of the self-healing robots needed to be heated in order to heal, but these newly devised materials by Cambridge researchers can help heal robots at room temperature, making them more suitable for real-world applications.

The researchers found that printing sensors containing sodium chloride (salt), instead of carbon ink resulted in a material having the exact properties they were looking for. Since salt is soluble in the water-filled hydrogel, it provides a uniform channel for the movement of ions. This self-healing hydrogel bonds well with a range of different materials, making it suitable to be incorporated into other types of flexible and stretchable robotic devices.

For example, most of the research in the Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory is focused on the development of artificial hands. Although this material is a proof-of-concept, if developed further, it could be incorporated into artificial skins and custom-made wearable and biodegradable sensors.

The self-healing materials are low-cost and easy to prepare, either by 3D printing or by casting. They are preferable to many existing alternatives since they show long-term strength and stability without drying out, and they are made entirely from widely available, food-safe, materials.

While the problem with most jelly-like sensing technologies is that they are not durable and require high amounts of energy, soft sensing technologies possess the potential to transform robotics as we perceive it.