I get it - the headline sounds terrifying. But Switzerland’s EPFL has just invented a medical masterpiece that could help to reinvent robotic healthcare. These gelatinous machines could soon be crawling around your insides and performing operations.
This is what’s known as a gelatinous actuator – a series of mechanical motors connected together through the substance commonly used to make jelly babies. Normally, robots rely on external power sources; but these actuators actually rely on small digestible batteries to keep going, alongside the device’s reaction to the air and chemicals around it to keep going.
And because of the adaptability of these gelatinous robots, anything can be attached to them – cameras, sensors, and operating equipment. This truly edible robot is capable of amazing things.
Don’t expect anything so soon, though, as the gelatin actuator is still in early stages of development. But the EPFL team are working closely with chefs from the École hôtelière de Lausanne, one of the best culinary schools in the world, to develop these edible robots in a tasty way.
Alongside the scientists, 50% of the British public and the future health of young people across the nation, I have one simple request: delay Freedom Day, please.