The Future of Machines That Move like Animals | Robert Katzschmann | TED

63,710 views

2022-11-25 ・ TED


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The Future of Machines That Move like Animals | Robert Katzschmann | TED

63,710 views ・ 2022-11-25

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:04
Modern engineering focuses on rotating motors
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to power almost any machine.
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It has taken about 200 years
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for motors to become what they are today.
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And they're still loud and unnatural in their ways.
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The constant noise of machines
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causes problems for living beings everywhere,
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both in the ocean and also on land.
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Humans who are constantly exposed to noise can become stressed, depressed
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and even develop tinnitus.
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In contrast,
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there are no rotating motors in nature.
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Nature often smoothly, glides, swims or wiggles,
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without the rattling of rigid parts
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or the loud rubbing of surfaces.
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I believe we can and should rehaul our approach to how we make machines.
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Instead of using rigid or unnatural materials,
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what if we made biomimetic machines?
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Machines made of soft or living materials
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that are adaptive and safe to use in a variety of everyday tasks?
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Can you imagine boats or submarines that propel themselves
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by moving their tails from side to side,
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just like fish do?
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So to imitate these natural movements,
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we have to replace rotating motors
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and fast, spinning propellers
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with artificial muscles.
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And I can tell you this, this can be done.
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Our team of researchers at MIT and ETH Zurich
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has started to develop less disruptive robots
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by introducing a new, biomimetic way of moving through water.
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We created a biomimetic robotic fish.
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Her name is Sophie.
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She's the first demonstration of a fully untethered, soft robot
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that can explore the ocean without the need for propellers.
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Sophie pumps water back and forth within a highly deformable tail.
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Her tail movement imitates the natural swimming motion of real fish.
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Sophie's natural design allows her to closely monitor aquatic life.
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Now, there's a catch.
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Sophie is energy-hungry and loud.
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Yes, we successfully managed to build a robot that swims like a fish,
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but...
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Sophie requires a motor and a pump to properly work.
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Now we are replacing that motor and pump,
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which is noisy and not desired in such a way,
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we're replacing it with silent, artificial muscles.
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These muscles are called HASELs.
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They directly and efficiently convert electrical energy
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into muscle contractions.
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Take a look at this large muscle we made to lift and lower a leg.
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A stack of flexible sheets contracts and relaxes
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just like a thigh muscle does.
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Let me tell you how this works.
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So we take laminated sheets
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to create pouches.
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We have several of these pouches within a single muscle.
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We now take a conductive ink
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and spray-coat that ink onto these pouches,
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and then we inject them with oil.
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After having done this,
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we have a conductive ink that acts like a flexible electrode
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that squeezes these liquid-filled pouches
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when a voltage is applied.
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Now, just like muscles with real fish,
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we take this kind of filmed muscles
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and pair them up as antagonistic pairs
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and put them into our soft robotic fish design.
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We 3D-print the hull
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and the spine of this fish,
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using soft and rigid materials.
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The fish now swims silently
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by electrically charging the muscles inside of the fish
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in an alternating fashion from one side to the other.
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To improve our designs,
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we do not rely on tedious trial and error fabrication.
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Instead, our software rapidly simulates
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and optimizes a design for performance
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before we have to build it.
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Our approach creates a continuous design space
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that interpolates between existing fish designs to create new designs.
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Our optimization then explores this continuous design space
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to come up with new and faster creatures we have not seen before.
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Robots one day might even be made of living muscle cells.
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Wouldn't it be great if such a living robot would then heal itself,
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just like human muscles do?
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I can tell you this.
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Starting from muscle cells,
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we can already print, grow and stimulate muscles.
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We are now beginning to make these muscles larger,
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longer-lasting and controllable.
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It’s a fascinating challenge to engineer a standalone muscle
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without a supporting organism
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that provides this muscle with an immune system.
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These living muscles efficiently convert chemical energy that comes from nutrients
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into muscle contractions.
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Living muscles can eventually become sustainable
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and biodegradable machines
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that decrease emissions and pollution
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all while actually truly mimicking nature.
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So all of this,
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what I've told you, is possible
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with the knowledge that researchers and engineers have today.
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I believe we have to rethink every machine ever invented
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from a holistic perspective.
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We have to rethink what the machine should do
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and what it should not do.
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I think we want machines that safely integrate with us,
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improve our quality of life.
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All the while, we respect nature,
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and don't pollute our world with loud noises.
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So let's reimagine machines to take on forms
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we have never thought of before
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and discover places we have never been to before.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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