Flexible Battery, Inspired by Snake Scales, Shows Promise for Soft Robots and Wearables
Inspired by a classic children's tale and the animal kingdom, this battery flexes and stretches like the scales of a snake.
Researchers at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) have developed a flexible battery inspired by snake scales which, they say, could drive everything from soft robotics to form-hugging wearables.
Inspired by the boa constrictor from the novella The Little Prince, which was described as being capable of swallowing an elephant, the prototype battery is designed to stretch and flex — yet be capable of protecting itself against external impact.
Based on the structure of a snake's scales, the battery is made up of a number of smaller hexagonal cells which are connected via polymer and copper in a hinge design. As the battery moves, the hinge allows the individual cells to move like the individual scales on a snake — giving it a flexibility not previously possible.
"It demonstrates high areal capacity and reliability, even under severe environmental conditions such as dynamic stretching and bending deformations," the team writes of the prototype battery. "This technology can be applied to various types of flexible energy devices requiring high stability."
"It has a pivotal role in the development of flexible electronics, including human-friendly wearable electronics and soft robotics as well as multifunctional stretchable devices, such as sensors, displays, energy harvesters, and energy storage devices."
The team suggests that the battery could be used for wearable soft robotics, medical devices, and even to power slithering robots that could crawl through narrow gaps to locate survivors in the event of a disaster.
The work has been published in the journal Soft Robotics under open-access terms.