Researchers from the University of Reading have successfully demonstrated the bounded «learning» behavior of a simple electroactive polymer (EAP) hydrogel in conjunction with an array of electrodes. This was demonstrated using an EAP gel control system that played an adapted version of the classic video game Pong. Furthermore, it seemed that the EAP gel control system, or «brain», reached the peak of its Pong playing capabilities after about 20 minutes.
Although the EAP gel control system certainly does not resemble conscious life in any way, it still demonstrates an inherent ability for which the material was not designed.
Engineer Vincent Strong from the University of Reading explains this as follows:
«The rate at which the hydrogel deflates takes much longer than the time it takes for it to swell the first time, i.e., the subsequent movement of ions depends on its previous movement, which is a kind of constant rearrangement of ions in the hydrogel based on previous rearrangements in the hydrogel that have been going on since it was created and had a homogeneous distribution of ions».
In essence, it proves that EAP hydrogels have much more promise than their current typical use. As Yoshikatsu Hayashi, a biomedical engineer at the University of Reading, explains, «our research shows that even very simple materials can exhibit complex, adaptive behaviors typically associated with living systems or sophisticated AI. This opens up exciting opportunities for developing new types of smart materials that can learn and adapt to their environment».
In the future, such materials could lead to huge advances in fields such as prosthetics, soft robotics, and adaptive materials in general. For now, the research mainly serves to confirm that «learning and adaptation systems in living systems may be more versatile than previously thought».
The researchers plan to continue experimenting with such EAP hydrogels to find the limits of its «memory» capabilities and apply it to other tasks. In the past, they have also demonstrated the material’s ability to mimic the beating of heart tissue.
Source: tomshardware