ROBOT ROUND-UP I: LIMBO-BOTby HazedFor some reason this week I have got a whole bunch of stories about robots. They must be like busses - you wait ages then five come along at once! A team at Harvard University has come up with a soft robot that can squeeze itself under obstacles, limbo-dancer style. It's been inspired by squid and starfish and it can crawl and undulate, changing its shape to fit through tight spaces, and navigate difficult terrain. This gives it a number of advantages over robots with rigid parts and solid wheels or treads, which have a limited repertoire of movements. This pneumatically-driven robot is built using soft, flexible materials called "elastomers" and its motion is driven by compressed air. The elastomer layer contains a series of chambers that inflate like balloons to control its motion. This allows it to use different patterns of movement depending on the environment. Watch a video of the limbo-bot in action here. It looks quite cute. |