Yale researchers have found a way to make flowing fluids remember what happened before, using tiny flexible fibers that change shape under pressure. The discovery could help engineers develop soft robots that process information without conventional electronic controllers.

The idea turns a familiar engineering problem on its head. Most fluid systems respond to the conditions they encounter, but the Yale design can retain traces of earlier flows. Its physical components effectively store information, allowing past events to influence how the system behaves next.

Inside a microfluidic chip, researchers placed flexible fibers within a network of narrow channels. Each channel measures roughly half the width of a human hair in depth.

As fluid moves through the channels, pressure pushes individual fibers between two stable configurations. Each position changes the path available to the fluid, creating a physical record of the system’s previous state.

Engineers could represent the two configurations as binary digits, or zeros and ones. Unlike conventional computer memory, the arrangement does not need electronic components to switch between states.

Abhineet Rajput, the study’s lead author and a graduate student in Professor Amir Pahlavan’s lab, explained the distinction. “While conventional microfluidics relies on active elements, this system uses microfibers to passively store information,” Rajput said.

The fibers can also influence one another. Their interactions allow individual changes to shape the behavior of the wider network, producing a more complex form of physical memory.

The research could open another route to controlling soft robots. Such machines often need to bend, squeeze through tight spaces, or operate in environments that challenge conventional hardware.

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