https://youtu.be/uxYJiXhT7Rc & https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-chinese-university-of-hong-kong_slime-robot-developed-by-cuhk-team-%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%A7%E5%9C%98%E9%9A%8A%E7%A0%94%E7%99%BC-activity-6919203335715651584-Rpqb

【Slime Robot developed by CUHK team】

This slime robot has gone viral globally after its international media exposure lately. The slime robot, which was developed by a research team of CUHK Mechanical and Automation Engineering Department, can deform, grab objects and move, just like the sci-fi movie creatures. Indeed, the robot design was inspired by the movie Venom, but it is different from Venom in a way that it is expected to bring benefit to human beings in the future.

The magnet particles in the slime give it conductivity and the capability to change its shape to navigate through narrow tubes and complex mazes, self-heal and grab objects driven by an external magnetic field. According to Prof. Li Zhang and Dr. Mengmeng Sun, the lead author of the publishing, of CUHK Mechanical and Automation Engineering Department, the slime robot is expected to be of great value in medical applications, such as removing accidentally swallowed objects like button batteries and sharp bones.

The study was widely covered by international media outlets like BBC, Guardian and New Scientist. The news videos have gained over 10 million views online. The research team was thrilled about the overwhelming response, 'It is encouraging to know that our study has aroused people's interest and attention. We will keep it up and explore how the slime robot can be put into practical use in the future.'

The findings have been published in Advanced Functional Materials:
https://lnkd.in/gTdXG5ZC

【中大團隊研發「史萊姆機械人」】

這部連日來獲國際媒體廣泛報道、引起全球關注的「史萊姆機械人」，能伸縮變形、抓物移動，具科幻電影感，其實是中大機械與自動化工程學系團隊發明的微型機械人。機械人的設計靈感亦真的源自電影《毒魔》，而與電影不同的是，這部機械人毒性很微，未來可望於人體內執行任務。

「史萊姆機械人」成分包括磁性顆粒，所以透過操控外在磁場，便能屈能伸，穿過超窄管道，遊走複雜迷宮，更能自我修復、抓住物件，而且可以傳電。中大機械與自動化工程學系張立教授及孫猛猛博士（論文第一作者）表示，「史萊姆機械人」有望作醫療用途，包括取出誤吞進消化管道的有害物，如電池或尖銳骨頭等。

今次研究獲BBC、Guardian、New Scientist等國際媒體報道，片段觀看次數過千萬。對於引起廣泛迴響，團隊表示興奮：「研究能引起大家對機械人的興趣及關注，我們感到十分鼓舞。團隊將繼續努力，探討如何好好利用『史萊姆機械人』帶來實際效用。」

研究論文已刊登於《先進功能材料》：
https://lnkd.in/gTdXG5ZC

#engineering #research #slimerobot #robot