Humanoid Robots Now Have The Ability To Sweat

If you've ever watched any of the "Terminator" movies, you'd know that human-looking robots are something that many are aspiring to make. In fact, today, these robots actually already exist, an example of which is Honda's humanoid friend, Asimo.

Perf Science noted that Asimo can run, climb stairs, open bottles and even serve food, although he has the tendency to go haywire, the same way he did when he malfunctioned at an event that caused a lot of mockery from SNL.

However, it seems that Japan has gone one step further - on order to address heating problems, Japanese researchers devised an out-of-the-box, but ultimately very human solution: sweat. Tech Times noted that by using the same analogy of human sweat, researchers at the University of Tokyo's JSK lab presented the method at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, which was held in South Korea.

This cooling solution not only addressed the heating problem of the musculoskeletal system of the humanoid robot, but also serves as a way to solve the dilemma of space. The sweating mechanism was made easier thanks to its laser frame made of aluminum powder, making it highly permeable with micro channels that can help water pass through.

This cooling activity, as noted by Tech Times, proves better than air cooling - not to mention the fact that it is highly efficient, as the cooling technique basically involves perspiration that allows the water to drip into its 108 motors that can help cool them enough through evaporation. The technique, once perfected, could allow a humanoid robot do pushups for 11 minutes without overheating - a feat not many humans could even afford to do.

"Usually the frame of a robot is only used to support forces," Lead author Toyokata Kozuki shared. "Our concept was adding more functions to the frame, using it to transfer water, release heat, and at the same time support forces."