A-Maze-ing Soft Robot Navigates Complex Layouts Sans Brain

Researchers at NC State University reported an intelligent soft robot that can self-escape from challenging mazes sans a human-like brain. The mazes include multi-channeled mazes, a maze on sand, narrow-exit mazes, and dynamic mazes with in-situ changing layouts. Watch this video to learn more about this soft robot made of liquid crystal elastomers.

"We’ve developed a new soft robot that is capable of turning on its own, allowing it to make its way through twisty mazes, even negotiating its way around moving obstacles," says Jie Yin , co-corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University. "And it’s all done using physical intelligence, rather than being guided by a computer."