02-Jun-2021 | Market Research Store
Science fiction movies have always showcased a prime model of autonomous engineered machinery coupled with artificial intelligence. Mostly, the fictional villains assigned in these movies, such as Cylons from the “Battlestar Galactica”, have been teemed with numerous mechanically engineered devices. However, the real question is whether these tech-loaded bodies can be beneficial in real-life scenarios as well.
This thought-provoking question has urged the researchers from the Penn State and U.S. Air Force to fabricate a phenomenal material that could think and respond as per the information fed to it. The research has been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications. The research team had established a mechanical metamaterial with a soft appearance that could think and react according to the programs installed in it. This project can be revolutionary in multifarious fields ranging from medical research & development to environmental protection.
Ryan Harne, who is an associate professor at Penn State, stated that the scientists have created a soft, flexible mechanical metamaterial comprising a conductive polymer network. The circuit imbibes the capacity to generate all logical computations. Furthermore, this innovation aimed to incorporate precise decision-making capabilities in the engineered material. Such autonomous systems can be helpful in the near future as they would be able to perform day-to-day activities alongside providing basic services to the people. This novel soft conductive material can aid in maintaining the infrastructure, monitoring the level of contaminations and number of pathogens present in atmosphere and water bodies, and play a vital role in the effective healing of patients.
The cognitive ability of humans is based on logic, and Harne states that the principle behind generating this innovative conductive material is like the Boolean logic used in mathematics. This logic uses switch signals derived only from the processing of binary language.