robots with shock-absorbing skin tagged posts

MIT researchers outfitted their cube robot with shock-absorbing “skins” (left) that transfer less than half of the energy that would normally be transferred to the ground. Credit: Image courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Anyone who’s watched drone videos or “BattleBots” knows that robots can break – often because they don’t have the proper padding. But this week MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) will present 3D printing soft materials that make robots safer and more precise in their movements – and that could be used to improve the durability of drones, phones, shoes, helmets, and more...