Like Humans, Robots Can Now Sweat When They Are Hot

Design of robotic hands that can sweat (doc. Cornell University)

JAKARTA - The development of the world of robotics continues to show progress. After creating a robot that can mimic human expressions. Now researchers have succeeded in developing a robot that can sweat.

Researchers from Cornell University and engineers from Istituto Technologia in Italy, have succeeded in developing a robot that can sweat like a human when it is hot. The goal is that the robot's performance does not decrease when working for a long time.

Launching The Verge, technology which is similar to the sweat glands in humans was made by one of the robot designers, TJ Wallin. The artificial sweat glands embedded in this part of the robot are able to overcome the problem of overheating or overheating in the mechanical drive system, when working for a long time.

"Sweating is one of the best human abilities. Its function is to lower body temperature in hot conditions," Wallin said as quoted by VOI, Sunday, February 2.

Basically, this robot is made from a rubber base material filled with pore holes on its surface. The inside has an empty cavity to channel water when the rubber joints of this robot work.

The water droplets will come out by themselves, when the joints of the robot work at a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. This fluid will function to cool the joints of the robot while working.

Wallin said, in general, robots are made of metal and conductors that can conduct heat. In order to reduce the heat caused by these mechanical machines, scientists replace the components with materials made of rubber or similar insulators.

This artificial sweat technology allows the robot to reduce overheating problems when working for long periods or in hot room conditions. This technology can also be embedded independently, without the need for additional tools.

It's just that, not all parts of the robot can sweat. Because some components of motion tools and joints will experience a reduction in power because the surface is wet and slippery.

One of the researchers from Cornell University, Robert Shepherd, said that robots with sweat technology still have to replenish the water reserves stored in them. This means that this robot must also drink like humans and mammals in general.

"Similar to animals consuming food and water from their environment to maintain thermoregulatory activity, our systems ultimately need a means to replenish water lost during long-term operation," wrote the scientist at Science Robotics.