Yale builds microfluidic chip that stores memory in flowing water

Yale researchers developed a microfluidic chip where flexible fibers in channels about half the width of a human hair record past flow states. Two stable fiber positions encode bits without electronics, pointing toward fully fluidic controllers for soft robots. The findings appear in Physical Review X.

• Flexible fibers in channels ~half a hair wide store flow states
• Two stable fiber positions encode bits without electronic parts
• Fibers interact, forming a more complex physical memory
• Goal is a fluidic controller acting as a soft robot's brain