Pork gelatin powers biodegradable robot arm for delicate tasks

A team of engineers at Westlake University, Zhejiang Normal University and Shaoxing University, all in China, has tested the possibility of making some robot parts biodegradable. In their project, published in the journal Science Advances, the group made some robot components using cotton cellulose films and pork gelatin.

Robot parts, like most electronic and computer components, are made mostly of nonbiodegradable materials, which means that once their useful life is over, they must be recycled or simply thrown into the trash.

The team in China used cotton cellulose films to form a thin-walled, bendable, hollow tube that resembles a vacuum cleaner hose. They covered parts of its surface with ionically conductive pork gelatin threads, allowing the component to react when electricity was applied. They then created three more of the modules and connected them to form a longer tube. The result is a simple, 240-mm-long robot arm.

The robot arm could be controlled by tightening or loosening the threads. They note that the gelatin thread also served as a sensor as it changed resistance when the arm was bent. That allowed the team not only to control the arm, but to receive feedback that described the position of the arm at any given moment. They also added sophistication to their robot arm by creating a smaller version that they used as a joystick to control its movement. They note that because of the nature of the materials, the arm is soft, allowing for use in delicate situations.

The researchers note that all the arm components were biodegradable and could be used as fertilizer when no longer needed. They also suggest that a smaller version of their robot arm could be used in medical applications inside the body, where it would simply decay and be removed naturally by the body.

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