Scientists Made A Robot From Ice That Can Repair Itself On Planets

A group of scientists is attempting to make robots from ice with the capability of self-repairing as well as rebuilding themselves with local ice when landing on planets. This is one of the most exciting, though bizarre, ideas about exploring planets outside the solar system. These robots are called IceBot and they can become the future of uncrewed planetary exploration.

Existing exploration robots of JPL and NASA are highly intelligent, but they will break down eventually. In most cases, though these breakdowns can be easily fixed, there isn’t a repair shop close by. Even with Mars rovers, if they could repair themselves or replace the wheels on their own, there aren’t any places for them to get replacements.

As for the power problem, scientists came up with a good solution, which is using solar power that’s accessible almost anywhere. Eventually, you cannot grow wheels as well as other crucial parts of a robot with just solar power. However, there another viable material for constructing structural parts: ice.

The new paper indicates the potential of sending ice robots to planets. Nevertheless, keep in mind that we cannot make batteries and other electronics from ice. Besides, ice is not as solid or efficient as carbon fiber, titanium, and other structural materials.

However, ice is easy to find and has unique properties regarding how it is modified. It can be sculpted and cut with warm tools while parts can be glue together easily.

The International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) considers a number of ways to use ice in developing robotic structural components for additive and subtractive manufacturing tasks. This initiative is aimed at building robots with the ability to self-configure, self-replicate, and self-repair, according to Spectrum IEEE report.

This idea is perfect for an environment where there’s a lot of ice and the ambient temperature is low enough not to destabilize the ice structure and compensate for the robot’s internal heat. CNC machining, 3D printing, and molding have proven this as feasible as using a drill to cut ice though engineers have to ensure melted ice water and shavings will not refreeze in unwanted places. At the same time, they need the ice to refreeze at certain times such as attaching disparate parts and placing actuators.

IceBot is only 6.3 kilograms heavy, a hand-made robot developed to show how ice robots can move around comfortably without dissolving even at room temperatures. It’s worth noting that there remains a lot to do before IceBot can actually do what we expect it to when exploring planets, but this is a very promising concept.