A soft robot developed by Cornell University engineers can detect when and where damage to its body occurs and immediately heal itself. The SHeaLDS (self-healing light guides for dynamic sensing) robot is comprised of fiber-optic sensors that can identify material deformations, as well as a polyurethane urea elastomer with hydrogen bonds for rapid healing and disulfide exchanges for strength.
In tests in which the robot's leg was punctured six times, each cut was detected and self-healed within approximately one minute. In addition, the robot adapted its gait based on the damage without intervention. Machine learning algorithms able to identify tactile events eventually will be integrated with SHeaLDS to produce a very enduring robot that has a self-healing skin.
More information:
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/12/soft-robot-detects-damage-and-heals-itself