Squishy Robot Can Move Under Obstacles


A team of Harvard scientists designed a soft robot which can move under difficult obstacles by mimicking the movements of certain animals, such as squid and worms.

The robot doesnt have a hard internal skeleton; it is composed solely of elastomeric polymers and a series of chambers. Using a pneumatic valving system, the chambers can be inflated to create movement, which boils down to a combination of crawling and undulation.

All of this enables the robot to crawl, for example, under a glass plate elevated 2 cm from the ground.

This type of design makes the robot less susceptible to damage from falls and colliding with hard objects. It does, however, makes it more susceptible to damage from punctures.

Check out a se! ries of videos and a PDF detailing the design of the robot here.

[via Pnas, BBC]

More About: Harvard, Robot, Science

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