Soft robots still have a heavy reliance on hard electronics to make them work, but a new tech might cut down the need for underlying circuitry. Researchers at UC Riverside have developed pneumatic computer memory that will enable soft robots to play the piano.

The “air-powered” memory relies on microfluidic valves rather than conventional transistors and electric circuits. The microfluid valves that control help in controlling the airflow. Atmospheric pressure in a given valve represents a binary “0,” while a vacuum indicates a “1.”

More polishing required

The new memory has complex enough arrays of these valves to work like an 8-bit RAM chip that is not so powerful but enough to power a soft robot to play the piano at a slow and steady speed. The absence of positive pressure is a factor making it safe since there’s no danger of a memory explosion during the process.

That said, the technology isn’t completely ready for use. Besides needed improvements to the speed and complexity, a robot would have to use soft versions of processors and other innards to completely make rigid electronics redundant.

Robots are the rage

Pneumatic memory has the potential to reduce the reliance on chips for soft robots and can pave the way for a future of completely flexible robotics that won’t hurt humans on collision.

Speaking of robots, a San Francisco-based startup called Clockwork has built a robot that gives manicures. It could be a great tool in the times of coronavirus where social distancing is advised. However, this doesn’t mean that the robot will completely replace beauticians.

To function, the robot first requires a cartridge. Next, the user needs to put their hand on the palm rest and let the machine take pictures of the fingers to create a 3D map. Once done, the map is sent to an AI, which then instructs the machine where the edges of the nails are. The algorithm then prompts the robot where to place the polish on the nail, and voila! We might see more of such robots in the coming days.