Scientists Create 'Terminator' Robot That Melts, Escapes Cages

China, Hong Kong, and the United States Scientists Create ‘Terminator’ Robot that slip between bars on a cage, and then return to solid form before continuing its work.

As part of a study into metal microparticles, the research team created using a mixture of metals with low melting points and published their findings in the journal Matter.

The robot’s creators think that because it can access confined locations, the device, which has been compared to the cybernetic assassin from the “Terminator” film series.

The microbot was heated to 95 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the experiment, at which point it changed into liquid form after 1 minute and 20 seconds of being fired with magnetic fields at alternating currents. More magnets were used to guide the microbot through cage gaps after it had transformed into liquid metal.

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The microbot, according to The Washington Post(Opens in a new window), could stretch, divide, and combine when it was liquid, but when it was solid, it could travel at speeds of more than three miles per hour and carry loads that were up to 30 times its weight. When solid, the robot’s width is less than 0.4 inches.

Chengfeng Pan, an engineer and co-author of the study from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, claimed in an interview with The Washington Post that the microbot’s substance could achieve “rapid movement and heavy load-bearing” in its solid form and “shape shifting in its liquid stage.”

He continued, “Potential applications in flexible electronics, health care, and robotics are possible with this material system.

The researchers claim that this is the first time a material that allows for both form change and the carrying of heavy loads has been discovered for use in microbots.

In a different experiment, researchers used the microbot to remove an unwelcome object from a model human stomach. When the object had been discovered. United States Scientists Create ‘Terminator’ Robot that slip between bars on a cage, and then return to solid form before continuing its work.

it was guided through the model organ while still solid before being melted by remotely controlled magnetic forces.

The use of a toxic metal compound (neodymium iron boron) in this particular microbot necessitates that it be completely removed from the body after use

.According to Brad Nelson, a robotics professor at ETH Zurich who was not involved in the study but told the Post that advancements in microbot technology like this one are exciting and may be applicable in clinical settings.