Human Tears Power Smart Contacts

Scientists based out of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have begun working on augmented reality contact lenses capable of displaying virtual information in the real world powered by human tears. The team has begun development of a flexible battery roughly as thin as the human cornea. This ultra-slim battery can store electricity when in contact with a saline source, which can be found in tears.

According to researchers, this solution can extend battery life up to four hours for every 12-hour cycle. The contacts can also be charged using an external battery. The battery itself is made of biocompatible materials. No wires or toxic material were used in the development, promising a more comfortable experience compared to some other smart contacts. The team has already filed a patent and intends to commercialize the smart contacts at some point in the future.

More information:

https://vrscout.com/news/scientists-working-on-smart-contacts-powered-by-human-tears/

Soft Robot Amputates and Reattaches

Researchers at Yale University have given a soft robot the ability to detach and reattach pieces of itself, editing its body morphology when necessary. The robot uses asymmetrically stiff air chambers that inflate and deflate to generate a walking or crawling motion. The joints rely on a new material called a bicontinuous thermoplastic foam (BTF) to form a supportive structure for a sticky polymer that’s solid at room temperature but can be easily melted.

The BTF acts like a sponge to prevent the polymer from running out all over the place when it melts, and means that you can pull two BTF surfaces apart by melting the joint, and stick them together again by reversing the procedure. The process takes about 10 minutes and the resulting joint is quite strong. It’s also good for a couple of hundred detach/re-attach cycles before degrading. It even stands up to dirt and water reasonably well.

More information:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/soft-modular-robot

Paralyzed Tennis Player With Robotic Exoskeleton Carries Olympic Torch

A paralyzed tennis player carried the Olympic flame through Paris using a robotic exoskeleton that helped him walk again. The tennis player is the first real para-athlete to wear a self-balancing exoskeleton during the Olympics. These self-balancing exoskeletons are battery-operated and offer personalized support to the legs and torsos of people who have lost the ability to walk due to health conditions ranging from strokes to paralysis. The devices also have sensors that can detect when wearers want to stand by reading upper body movement using bespoke algorithms.

Wandercraft's exoskeletons have only been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States since the end of 2022, and for stroke rehabilitation. In France, however, roughly 20 of the robotic exoskeletons had been deployed to hospitals to help patients walk again, at around $176,000 a pop. But with the establishment of a campus in New York City to continue making the devices even more autonomous, it may not be long before Wandercraft's robotic exoskeletons, or others like them, are seen in the streets of the United States, too.

More information:

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/paralyzed-tennis-player-carries-olympic-164622883.html