
An integrated design and fabrication strategy for soft, autonomous robots - sdeville
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v536/n7617/full/nature19100.html
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formula1
To me the lost interesting part of this is their breif description of the
microfluid logic (see 11) which still makes no sense to me. This all seems to
bla breif synopsus of a unique and interesting project with a giant
bibliography and a paywall.

Regardless, the people who will use this technology to its fullest are likely
to be gov or big companies. Not 3d printer/roboticd enthusiasts

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jobu
Depending on the price I could see movie studios or places like DisneyWorld
using this technology to replace existing animatronics

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gene-h
So there are issues with using this to replace animatronics. One is that
microfluidic logic has low operating frequencies, as in less than 100 hertz.
This makes it hard to do fine control. Issue two is that elastomers do not
have a great fatigue life. Even if said robot is really cheap, if you have to
replace every couple of months, things will get expensive.

That being said, one could do things that would be hard to do with
conventional animatronics. One could cheaply produce something with a huge
amount of actuators that oscillate or go through some simple pattern. Which
would be perfect for making a lovecraftian horror with thousands of writhing
tentacles.

Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

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formula1
I appreciate your imagination!

