New Shock-Absorbing Material Could Help Robots Take a Real Beating The material could reduce wear an

One of the things standing in the way of consumer robotics is durability. Amazon's drone delivery program, for instance, won't get very far if all the drones keep breaking after colliding with a tree. Fortunately, MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has developed a novel technique for manufacturing more durable materials to use in robotics.

The MIT team developed what they called "programmable viscoelastic materials." Essentially, the team developed a way to 3D-print material with a customizable level of stiffness and elasticity. The person doing the printing can choose a hard material, a soft material, or anything in between.