Materials with self-response and variable electromechanical properties come out

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen xiaocluoyuzi for the clue delivery! CTOnews.com, January 30, according to the official website of the University of Science and Technology of China, Professor Zhang Shiwu of the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent equipment, School of Engineering Science, University of Science and Technology of China, a joint research team composed of British and Australian collaborators has successfully developed a new type of composite material that can adjust mechanical stiffness, electrical conductivity and sensitivity independently in response to changes in external mechanical loads and electrical signals.

By combining the adjustable resistance / stiffness characteristics of this material, the research team developed a variable stiffness multi-axis flexible compensator for manipulator joints. Compared with the current state-of-the-art commercial compensation units, the devices developed by the research group provide much larger bending compensation.

In addition, the research team also developed a reusable current-limiting cryogenic fuse based on this material. When the preset fuse current is reached, the resistance of the fuse can be increased by 1000 times in 0.1s to cut off the circuit and return to the available state within 10 seconds. Compared with commercial reusable fuses, it has more compact structure, lower fuse temperature and faster fuse and recovery speed.

CTOnews.com learned that the results were published in Scientific Progress (Science Advances) on January 25, 2023. The researchers say the intelligent material, which can respond to environmental changes, achieves the coordinated use of adjustable electrical and mechanical properties, fully demonstrating its potential to revolutionize the next generation of software robots and electronic devices.