Robo Gnashers On Trial
By Catherine Scullion
Researchers have designed a robotic mouth that could pave the way for great advances in the science of false teeth.Dentures are an unfortunate fact of life for most people entering their golden years. In the UK £2.5 billion is invested every year on the production of false teeth and related paraphernalia. However, all that might be about to change.
The University of Bristol Robotics Department has recently revealed Dento-Munch, a high-tech new robot designed to test the suitability of materials for a challenging life in the mouth.
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| Dento-Munch shown in all it's... glory |
However, any dentist will attest to the complexities (and often unpleasantries) of the human mouth; reproducing one in robot form has been a formidable task.
Kazem Alemzadeh, one of the engineers working on the project, feels they have made an excellent attempt. Dento-Munch has two ‘jaw’ platforms that allow full replication of the movements we can perform. Movement across six planes with feedback loops controlling accurate response to load and tension in the ‘mouth’ make the robot an accurately human chomper.
Whilst these specs might sound impressive to the layman, other researchers have been quick to point out its limitations, for example Dento-Munch doesn’t mimic the biological conditions in a mouth. There is no saliva; no cavalcade of billions of bacteria and no semi-masticated lumps of breakfast sloshing around in Dento-Munch’s shinier-than-shiny smile.
However, regardless of the knockers, Dento-Munch is a robotic triumph. The team that created it even think that they can build another along a similar design to mimic ankles.
Of course, Dento-Munch is going to have a pretty short life span is these guys get their way. Now if only there was some way of avoiding the dentist...
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