Meet the 3D-printed robots with soft skins

MIT CSAIL researchers have developed a new way to 3D-print robots which make the devices less prone to damage -- by giving them soft skins. These days, robots are used in many critical areas -- working for the military, used in surveillance and land surveys, and are the prized possessions of hobbyists, among others. The delicate balance of components within a robot can be damaged after drops, crashes, or collisions as it usually has no decent layers of protection or padding. However, a team of engineers and scientists hope to improve future robotics -- through soft materials. Researchers at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) said the team's "Programmable Viscoelastic Material" (PVM) makes robots "safer, more resilient and more precise in their movements."