Book 15, Question 37
How Does a Robot Sense Heat?
A robot can sense heat in two main ways! Some sensors change how easily electricity flows when they warm up. Others catch infrared light, which warm things give off.
More fun facts
- Anything a robot does that uses energy makes it heat up, and if it gets too hot, it can break.
- Metal can heat up and cool down fairly quickly.
- Many soft robots are made of materials that hold heat longer than metals.
- One robotic hand cools off by sweating.
- Its fingers are made of hydrogel layers that react to heat by leaking water.
- Scientists made a heat sensor that can detect changes of just ten thousandths of a degree Celsius, as sensitive as a pit viper.
Sources: Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American
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