Electricity-free circuit helps free up space for robots to ‘think,’ scientists say

Engineers have discovered for the first time how to give complex instructions to robots without electricity, which could free up more space in the robotic “brain” for them to “think”.

Imitating the functioning of certain parts of the human body, researchers at King’s College London transmitted a series of commands to devices with a new type of compact circuit, using variations in pressure of a fluid inside.

They say this world first opens up the possibility of a new generation of robots, whose bodies could operate independently of their built-in control center, with this space potentially being used instead for more complex AI-based software.

“Delegating tasks to different parts of the body frees up computational space for robots to ‘think’, allowing future generations of robots to be more aware of their social context or even more dexterous. This opens the door to a new type of robotics in some places like social services and manufacturing,” said Dr Antonio Forte, senior lecturer in engineering at King’s College London and lead author of the study.

The results, published in Advanced science could also enable the creation of robots capable of operating in situations where electricity-powered devices cannot operate, such as exploring irradiated areas like Chernobyl that destroy circuits, and in electricity-sensitive environments like MRI rooms.

The researchers also hope that these robots can eventually be used in low-income countries that lack reliable access to electricity.

Dr Forte said: “Simply put, robots are divided into two parts: the brain and the body. An AI brain can help manage a city’s traffic system, but many robots still struggle to open a door. For what ?

“Software has advanced rapidly in recent years, but hardware has not kept pace. By creating a hardware system that is independent of the software that runs it, we can offload much of the computational load onto hardware, from the same way your brain doesn’t do it you have to tell your heart to beat.”

Currently, all robots rely on electricity and computer chips to function. A robotic “brain” made up of algorithms and software translates information to the body or hardware via an encoder, which then performs an action.

In “soft robotics”, a field that creates devices such as robotic muscles from soft materials, this is particularly problematic because it introduces hard electronic encoders and strains the software to make the material act in a way that complex, for example by grabbing a door. handle.

To get around this problem, the team developed a reconfigurable circuit with an adjustable valve to place in a robot’s hardware. This valve acts like a transistor in a normal circuit and engineers can send signals directly to the hardware using pressure, imitating a binary code, allowing the robot to perform complex maneuvers without the need for electricity or instructions from the central brain. This allows for a greater level of control than current fluid circuits.

By moving work from software to hardware, the new circuit frees up computing space so that future robotic systems are more adaptive, complex and useful.

As a next step, the researchers now hope to expand their circuits from experimental hoppers and pipettes and integrate them into larger robots, from caterpillars used to monitor power plants to wheeled robots with fully flexible motors.

Mostafa Mousa, postgraduate researcher at King’s College London and author, said: “Ultimately, without investment in embodied intelligence, robots will stagnate. Soon, if we don’t offload the computational load that modern robots take on, algorithmic improvements will have little impact on their performance. Our work is just a first step on this path, but the future holds smarter robots with smarter bodies.