Collaborate Disseminate
If you’re making a small robot that can explore tight spaces, it would be good if that device could also shimmy its way through narrow gaps. An experimental new robot can do just that, by emulating a caterpillar.Continue ReadingCategory: Robotics, Tech… Continue reading Soft-bodied robot copies a caterpillar to squeeze through gaps
No single robot can perform all tasks, yet bringing a bunch of different robots along on Moon missions would be quite inefficient. The WORMS setup offers an alternative, in the form of components that can be mixed and matched to make whatever robot is … Continue reading Clever MIT modular robotics system could give astronauts WORMS
Traditional paint gets it color from synthetic pigments, which fade over time and aren’t very eco-friendly. There may soon be a better alternative, though, in the form of a paint which incorporates color-producing nanostructures.Continue ReadingCategor… Continue reading Bio-inspired “plasmonic paint” could make regular paint a thing of the past
Earthworms move through the soil not just by wriggling around, but by sending peristaltic waves down their bodies. A new bio-inspired robot, which employs that same strategy, could one day be used in underground exploration or even search-and-rescue mi… Continue reading Earthworm-inspired robot moves by doing the wave
Robots that move across both land and water are potentially very useful, but they also tend to be complex and rather slow. A new bio-inspired amphibious bot, however, utilizes a relatively simple mechanism to undulate at a good clip.Continue ReadingCat… Continue reading Efficient amphibious robot channels its inner snake and centipede
Using drones for aerial seeding may seem like a good idea, but … the seeds could easily just blow away if left on the surface of the soil. A bio-inspired seed carrier has been designed to help, by corkscrewing its seed load down into the ground.Continu… Continue reading Plant-inspired E-seeds drill themselves into the dirt when moistened
If you’re designing robots for the exploration of oceans on other planets, you want something that’s tough, versatile and easy to store in a spacecraft. It turns out that soft-bodied robots inspired by a marine organism may be the perfect choice.Contin… Continue reading Sea-creature-inspired linked robots could explore alien oceans
Although we’ve seen a number of systems that use sunlight to purify tainted water, their output is often quite limited. A new loofah-inspired hydrogel, however, uses sunlight to treat much more water in one go … enough to meet a person’s daily needs.Co… Continue reading Sunlight-activated “loofah hydrogel” excels at purifying water
Bioinspired underwater robots that swim by undulating their bodies may be more energy-efficient than their rigid counterparts, but they’re also quite difficult to build. That could soon change however, thanks to a new modular robotics system.Continue R… Continue reading Modular voxel tech could bring swimming robots into the mainstream
If you like the idea of flying through the water like a dolphin, then the Seabreacher is the craft for you. However, what if you want to bring more than one friend along? Well, that’s where the Jet Shark comes in.Continue ReadingCategory: Marine, Trans… Continue reading Jet Shark takes multiple passengers on a semi-submersible thrill ride