Automatic Robot ‘Sweating’ Inspired by Mammal Perspiration

Innovation: Academia

Cornell University

2020

Image: Nathan Dumlao / Unsplash / CC BY SA - Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike

Sense Temperature Cues From the Environment

Some living systems use their ability to perceive temperature to find prey or avoid predators, or as a way to gain information about their environment, such as whether they are near a warm or cold place. Temperature gradients can be subtle and modulate as they travel through water, air, or solids. Living organisms must therefore have a variety of thermal sensors appropriate to a given medium (liquid, gas, solid). Some even have a way to “visualize” a signal’s source. For example, the rattlesnake has heat sensors with thousands of nerve endings located in pit-shaped holes on each side of its face. The sensitivity of the pits overlaps, giving the snake a bifocal image of the heat’s source.

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Protect From Temperature

Many living systems function best within specific temperature ranges. Temperatures higher or lower than that range can negatively impact a living system’s physiological or chemical processes, and damage its exterior or interior. Living systems must manage high or low temperatures using minimal energy, which often requires controlling responses along incremental temperature changes. To do so, living systems use a variety of strategies, such as avoiding high or low temperatures, removing excess heat, and holding heat in. Insulation is a well-known example of managing low temperatures by retaining heat using thick layers of hair, fur, or feathers to hold warm air next to the skin.

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Expel Liquids

There are various reasons living systems discharge liquids, such as to defend themselves, to avoid liquid buildup that can cause decay, to eliminate waste, or to dry off. Because liquids cannot be effectively moved through pushing, a different kind of force is needed to expel them. Creating that force requires energy, so living systems must have efficient strategies worth the energy investment or use an outside force (such as gravity). This typically entails strategies that build up pressure or use other forces to propel liquids away. An example of a living system that expels liquids is the scallop. This creature moves through water by clapping its shells together, generating a water jet that propels it in the opposite direction.

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Robot from Cornell University has pressurized reservoirs that release water and prevent the robot from overheating.

Benefits

Safer
Reduced energy usage

Applications

Robotics
Protheses
Medical devices

UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed

Goal 9: Industry Innovation & Infrastructure

The Challenge

When a robot overheats from a heavy computational load it will shut down, causing delays and errors in processes. To prevent this, robots have additional systems dedicated to cooling themselves down. These systems utilize additional energy and need consistent maintenance to stay operational.

Innovation Details

The soft robot consists of 3D-printed hydrogel actuators that form fingers to grip objects. The actuators have small pressurized reservoirs filled with water. The reservoirs are connected to the surface of the ‘finger’ by ducts. When the plastic on the robot reaches 86°F (30°C), the base layer shrinks, squeezing water to the top layer which has small pores for the water to escape out of. The water then evaporates, taking heat with it. This helps cool the robot, similar to how humans sweat to stay cool.

Biological Model

The sweat s of many mammals aid thermoregulation through evaporative cooling. The eccrine sweat gland is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system which regulates body temperature. When temperatures rise, the eccrine glands secrete water to the skin surface, where heat is removed by evaporation.

See Related Strategy

close up photograph of a white and light brown cow nose

Biological Strategy

Sweating Aids Thermoregulation

Mammals

The sweat glands of many mammals aid thermoregulation through evaporative cooling.

References

Journal article

Autonomic perspiration in 3D-printed hydrogel actuators

Science Robotics

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Reference

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