locomotion
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Scientists have observed snakes using an entirely unknown way of getting around. Brown tree snakes in Guam have been spotted climbing objects by wrapping themselves into a never-before-seen “lasso” shape.
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Remember those toys that sprang up into the air after you pushed them down? They're called poppers, and they've inspired an actuator that could one day allow soft-bodied robots to jump across rough terrain.
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Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have looked to shore up the mobility and freedom of future planetary rovers with a new design that uses some clever trickery to get itself out of tight spots.
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When we think of soft-bodied robots, we tend to picture things that slowly crawl like caterpillars. A new one is able to move much quicker, though, by leaping like a cheetah.
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Taking inspiration from the traditional cane, a team of researchers has come up with a LiDAR-enabled robotic assistant which offers light-touch support for the mobility-impaired. Dubbed Canine, the device improves the user's spacial self-awareness, and thus, their walking stability.
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If you're making a 2-mm-long walking robot, it pretty much goes without saying that the thing won't be able to carry much of a battery. That's why Georgia Tech's new "micro-bristle-bots" are instead propelled by vibrations. And someday, they may actually be capable of moving within the human body.
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In places like disaster sites, it's entirely possible that robots' locomotion systems could be damaged. Would that just stop them in their tracks? Perhaps not, if they're anything like a new brittle star-inspired robot.
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Rigid steel-and-plastic robots have their place, but some applications require a softer touch. Now, a Harvard team has created a semi-soft robot inspired by insects, which is made using drinking straws and moves by inflating bladders.
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Scientists recently studied one of the best sand-travelers in the animal kingdom – the sidewinder rattlesnake. After they analyzed its movement patterns and applied them to an existing snake-inspired robot, that robot was better able climb up sandy inclines.