Cozy knit sweaters could help robots ‘feel’ contact
The sensitive 'yarn' encases robots to direct them based on human touch and guidance. Carnegie Mellon Certain robots can certainly sense cold temperatures, but feeling cold is a whole other ordeal. And yet the world is now blessed with robot sweaters. To be fair, the new, adorable garb recently designed by an engineering team at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute isn’t intended to keep machines warm. As detailed in a research paper scheduled to be presented at 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, the group utilized the properties of a knitted sweater to create a fabric capable of sensing pressure and contact. The cutting-edge textile can now help indicate direction, orientation, and even grip strength via physical touch. [Related: A new material creates clean electricity from the air around it.] Like its...