Chinese and Australian scientists develop Terminator-like liquid robot

 Oct 25, 2018 

T-1000, the self-repairing, shape-shifting robot in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator films. Youtube

Scientists from China and Australia have made progress in the development of a liquid metal robot inspired by T-1000, the self-repairing, shape-shifting robot in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator films.

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), the University of Wollongong in Australia and Suzhou University, have designed a wheeled robot consisting of a plastic wheel, a small lithium battery and drops of gallium liquid‐metal (LM) alloys that possess the quality of controlled actuation.

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The robot’s wheel rolls when the liquid metal changes the centre of gravity, which is controlled by altering the voltage running through the embedded battery.

“We were inspired by T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” Li Xiangpeng, a robotics professor from the research team, told the South China Morning Post.

It is hoped the study will inspire a new method of fixing traditional mechanism problems, expand on current research related to LM‐based actuators in order to realise future complex robotic systems, and promote the development of micro robots and special robots, according to a statement by USTC.

The team is currently working on using multiple wheels and trying to make the robot move in a three-dimensional environment, according to Tang Shiyang, a research fellow.

The study was published in Advanced Materials, a scientific journal, last week.

   

Chinese and Australian scientists develop Terminator-like liquid robot