The Machines from Our Future

Abstract

Abstract While the last sixty years have defined the field of industrial robots and empowered hard-bodied robots to execute complex assembly tasks in constrained industrial settings, the next sixty years will usher in our time with pervasive robots that come in a diversity of forms and materials and help people with physical tasks. The past sixty years have mostly been inspired by the human form, but the form diversity of the animal kingdom has broader potential. With the development of soft materials, machines and materials are coming closer together: machines are becoming compliant and fluid-like materials, and materials are becoming more intelligent. This progression raises the question: what will be the machines from our future?