Inspired by a shape-shifting sea cucumber, researchers from Sun Yat-sen University, Zhejiang University and Carnegie Mellon University have developed a deformable, magnetically controlled liquid metal for manufacturing robots.

A sea cucumber can reversibly alter the stiffness of its tissue to improve its load capacity. If the shape-shifting android in Terminator 2 was stunning, this new design for liquid robot has brought the film's marvel closer to reality. 

In a demonstration video, a humanoid robot made of the liquid metal was seen escaping confinement from a cage by melting into liquid and then restoring its figure automatically.

Switching from solid to liquid

The researchers embedded a magnetoactive phase transitional matter in liquid metal to allow it to switch between solid and liquid states through heating with an alternating magnetic field and ambient cooling, according to the study published recently in the journal Matter.

The robot shows high mechanical strength, high load capacity and rapid locomotion speed in its solid phase as well as excellent shape adaptability in its liquid phase such as elongation, splitting and merging.

In its solid state, the 3-millimeter-long robot can achieve a jump height of 60 millimeters, when controlled by magnets, according to the study.

The design with dynamic shape reconfigurability can be used to make shape-shifting screws for smart assembly, or clear away foreign bodies in the stomach, the researchers said.

Read More: China makes major breakthrough to advance future intelligent robotics

(With input from Xinhua)