U.S. Army researchers have teamed with Texas A&M University to create a new polymer material that can shape-shift and autonomously heal itself as part of a research effort to improve future unmanned air and robotic vehicles. In early research, the first-of-its-kind, 3D-printable epoxy-based material can respond to stimuli, and researchers hope it will one day have embedded intelligence allowing it to adapt to its environment without any external control, according to a news release from Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's (CCDC) Army Research Laboratory. "We want a system of materials to simultaneously provide structure, sensing and response," said Frank Gardea, an aerospace engineer and principal investigator for the effort, at the CCDC. Gardea envisions a future platform, suitable for air and ground missions, with the "reconfiguration characteristics of the T-1000 character in the Hollywood film, 'Terminator 2.'" The hit film featured a Terminator made of liquid-metal that could form its arms into stabbing weapons and heal itself after being shot with everything from a 12-gauge shotgun to a 40mm grenade launcher. So far, the material has responded to temperature, which researchers first selected because of its ease of use during laboratory testing.

The US Army is pulling inspiration from the popular film'Terminator 2' in designing material capable of shape-shifting and autonomously healing. Made of polymer, the 3D printable component has a dynamic bond that allows it to go from liquid to solid multiple times. The new material is also equipped with a unique shape memory behavior, providing users with the ability to be program and trigger it to return to a previous form. The military group foresees the innovation being used to create morphing unmanned air vehicles and shape-shifting robotic platforms. The US Army is pulling inspiration from the popular science fiction film'Terminator 2' in designing material capable of shape-shifting and autonomously healing.