Robot That Can Breathe And Sweat Helps Scientists Understand Impact Of Soaring Heat

At ANDI the robot's home, a newly developed heat chamber, researchers can simulate heat-exposure scenarios from different places around the globe.

Scientists concerned about the changes in Earth's climate are using a robot to study the impact of soaring heat on humans. Called ANDI - short for Advanced Newton Dynamic Instrument - resembles a simple crash-test dummy. But it has the ability to breathe, shiver and even sweat. ANDI has been developed by researchers at Arizona State University in the US. And it is being used in Phoenix to understand what happens to the body when a human gets heatstroke and how can we protect ourselves in a warming planet.

The university published a release about the unique robot in May this year. It can mimic the thermal functions of the human body and has 35 different surface areas that are all individually controlled with temperature sensors, heat flux sensors and pores that bead sweat.

"He's the world's first outdoor thermal mannequin that we can routinely take outside and ... measure how much heat he is receiving from the environment," mechanical engineering professor Konrad Rykaczewski told news agency AFP.