Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News

Plant-like robot can grow 250 times its length, manipulate objects, form complex shapes

Awesome!

Alexandru Micu by Alexandru Micu
July 20, 2017
in News, Robotics, Science, Videos
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

A new soft robot designed by researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara can ‘grow’ like a plant — only much faster.

Softbot navigating maze.
Image credits Elliot W. Hawkes et al., 2017.

A team from Stanford Uni and the University of California, led by Elliot Hawkes of UoC’s Department of Mechanical Engineering designed and build a prototype soft-robot that can grow to explore its environments, akin to a vine of fungus. The design could help create a new class of robots which can traverse cramped or otherwise constrained environments.

The robot’s mechanical body is housed inside a plastic tube reel. The tube can be pneumatically extended, in a manner similar to how some invertebrates (such as Sipunculus nudus, the peanut worm) move around.

ADVERTISEMENT
http://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/robotics/suppl/2017/07/17/2.8.eaan3028.DC1/aan3028_Movie_S1.mp4

The plastic tube also allows the robot to change direction — one component handles the inflating process, while another allows the whole thing to shift direction. To see when it’s about to run into something, the robot also comes equipped with a nose-mounted camera.

http://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/robotics/suppl/2017/07/17/2.8.eaan3028.DC1/aan3028_Movie_S2.mp4

Overall, the robot can extend up to 72 meters in length, at a speed of 10 meters per second. As a proof-of-concept of their prototype bot, Hawkes’ team had it crawl through flypaper, glue, even over a bed of nails.

Sorry to interrupt, but you should really...

...Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

http://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/robotics/suppl/2017/07/17/2.8.eaan3028.DC1/aan3028_Movie_S3.mp4

They even programmed it to form various 3-D structures (such as a radio antenna), used it to turn off a valve, and had it act as a fire extinguisher.

ADVERTISEMENT
http://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/robotics/suppl/2017/07/17/2.8.eaan3028.DC1/aan3028_Movie_S4.mp4

A paper describing the robot, titled “A soft robot that navigates its environment through growth,” has been published in the journal Science Robotics.

All images and video credits to Image credits Elliot W. Hawkes et al., 2017, Science Robotics.

Tags: Inflatablerobotsoft robot
ShareTweetShare
Alexandru Micu

Alexandru Micu

Stunningly charming pun connoisseur, I have been fascinated by the world around me since I first laid eyes on it. Always curious, I'm just having a little fun with some very serious science.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.