Posts tagged as:

gel

Panasonic Gel Remote – Breathes and Gets Stiff [odd concept]

by Jay Garrett on June 12, 2009

limp-panasonic-remoteThis odd Dali-esque gel remote comes courtesy of Panasonic’s concept dept.

The control lays limp when not in use, pulsating with a soft light.

But when it detects a warm hand coming to grip it and put it to use it stiffens – ready for action!

The remote is made from soft, flesh-like gel and appears cold and flaccid when ignored but once turned on, however, it seems to come to life.

A soft light emanates from within its core and will also appear to ‘breathe’ as if snoozing.

Left undisturbed, the remote will slumber peacefully. But should a human hand approach, sensors inside alert it to the imminent groping – it then stops breathing and grows rigid.

I’m not entirely sure of the market that Panasonic is aiming this at – any ideas?

;)

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Freaky Gel Walks, Changes Colour and Plans World Domination

by Jay G on April 29, 2009

walking-gelNow, here’s something cool, albeit in a freaky kinda way.

A Japanese robotics lab has been showning off a chemical gel that is able to “walk” like a caterpillar.

Shingo Maeda and colleagues made the colour-changing gel by combining polymers that change size depending on their chemical environment.

The gel magnifies the small changes in size by building tension into it – this produces the curved shape as well as amplifying the material’s response to the oscillating reaction inside itself.

The clever-clogs say that it is all based on an oscillating chemical reaction known as Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction.

I’m taking that as being true. LOL

The plan is to possibly use this tech in electricity-free robots – possibly as muscles and such I guess.

Check out the video of the clever gel beast………

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