Korean researchers say they have devised a robot that can self-destruct and leave no trace other than an oily puddle.
Working with soft robots—devices composed of flexible materials that can move, heal and grow like living organisms—the researchers spent two years developing materials strong enough to support a fully functional robot but capable of disintegrating when self-contained substances interact.
Such capability could ensure sensitive data on-board robots used in surveillance, scouting and transport missions would not be exposed to enemy or other unauthorized sources. Such robots could also be used on search missions in dangerous locations or environmentally hazardous areas where retrieval proves impossible or would be too expensive.
Researcher Min-Ha Oh, a graduate student at Seoul National University who worked on the project, said, “We have mimicked death in a life cycle where the robot could end itself.”
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