Scientists discover shape-shifting material that could revolutionise robotics

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. A team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology created the “smart material” using a special type of ceramic, which can withstand vast temperatures and intense wear and tear. “The shape-memory materials that are out there in the world, they’re all metal,” said Professor Christopher Shuh from MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. And as atoms are moving and reshuffling, it’s sort of easy to get them in the wrong spots and create defects and damage the material, which leads them to fatigue and eventually fall apart.” Recommended Robot chefs find work in fast food chains hit by labour shortages In order to create the shape-shifting ceramic, the researchers used “all the modern tools of science”, including computational thermodynamics, phase transformation physics, crystallographic calculations and machine learning. Microrobots in small places, lab-on-a-chip valves, lots of small things that need actuation could benefit from smart wearables like this.” Details of the new material were published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday.