Scientists of the University of Cornell (USA) demonstrated a couple of robots, the power of which is a hydraulic battery. The restoration-oxidizing stream battery (RFB) imitates physiological processes: it involves the supply of electrolyte liquid, which, when dissolved, generates energy in a chemical reaction.
Image Source: Cornell University
Based on this technology, scientists built two robots, one of which resembles a jellyfish, and the second – a worm. Their power source produces simultaneously mechanical and electric energy. “There are many robots that are driven by hydraulics, and for the first time we use hydraulic fluid as a battery, which reduces the mass of the robot, since the battery performs two functions: it produces energy for the system and creates a force that sets it in motion,” he told about The project professor of mechanical engineering and aerospace equipment Rob Shepherd.
For the first time, the engineers of the University of Cornell used this technology when creating a robot on the sample of the winged fish in 2019-then they called the liquid circulating inside the construction of the robot, and the battery became its “heart”. RFB is based on a medium robot is equipped with a tendon that pushes up the mechanism up when the robot is compressed and takes the shape of a bell. When the robot is “relaxed”, it plunges deeper. When moving in water, he really resembles a jellyfish with his movements. The robot-grade, like serpentine robots, consists of segments-each of them is equipped with a motor and a drier drive, which is stretched and reduced, producing movement.
The transition from water to land for such mechanisms is not an easy task. The machines intended for underwater work do not require a hard skeletal frame. “So the ground life developed. It began with the fish, then it turned out to be a simple organism that rests on the ground. A worm is a simple organism, but it has more degrees of freedom, ”Professor Shepard explained.