Carnegie Mellon University
March 12, 2017

Bettinger Quoted in Recode

Bettinger sees progress in the development of edible robots

Researchers in Switzerland have invented a small, ingestible robotic actuator made entirely of gelatin. Combine this innovation with the edible electronics research of MSE/BME’s Christopher Bettinger, and you may find yourself one step closer to the first fully edible robot. While more testing and development is needed, Bettinger sees the introduction of gelatinous robots as a plus. “This soft, pneumatic approach is really cool, because when you think about your gastrointestinal tract and tissues, those also are kind of soft, squishy, and compliant, and there’s a lot of gas,” he told Recode.net. “The wind in the sails that will take anything [in edible electronics] forward is identifying the exact problem first and designing solutions to tackle that problem.” read more