Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
Science. 2015 Mar 20;347(6228):1261689. doi: 10.1126/science.1261689.
Tightly integrating sensing, actuation, and computation into composites could enable a new generation of truly smart material systems that can change their appearance and shape autonomously. Applications for such materials include airfoils that change their aerodynamic profile, vehicles with camouflage abilities, bridges that detect and repair damage, or robotic skins and prosthetics with a realistic sense of touch. Although integrating sensors and actuators into composites is becoming increasingly common, the opportunities afforded by embedded computation have only been marginally explored. Here, the key challenge is the gap between the continuous physics of materials and the discrete mathematics of computation. Bridging this gap requires a fundamental understanding of the constituents of such robotic materials and the distributed algorithms and controls that make these structures smart.
将传感、驱动和计算紧密集成到复合材料中，可以实现新一代真正的智能材料系统，这些系统可以自主改变其外观和形状。此类材料的应用包括能够改变空气动力学外形的机翼、具有伪装能力的车辆、能够检测和修复损伤的桥梁，以及具有逼真触感的机器人皮肤和假肢。尽管将传感器和致动器集成到复合材料中变得越来越普遍，但嵌入式计算带来的机遇只是略有探索。在这里，关键的挑战是材料的连续物理和计算的离散数学之间的差距。弥合这一差距需要对这些机器人材料的组成部分以及使这些结构智能化的分布式算法和控制有一个基本的了解。
