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Mori3 Flat Modular Robot Unpacks, Comes Alive
EPFL researchers have created a modular robot that is flat for easy storage, but comes alive in three dimensions to perform varied tasks.
“Our aim with Mori3 is to create a modular, origami-like robot that can be assembled and disassembled at will depending on the environment and task at hand,” says Jamie Paik, director of the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab.The individual modules of the Mori3 robot are triangular in shape. The modules easily join together to create polygons of different sizes and configurations in a process known as polygon meshing. “We have shown that polygon meshing is a viable robotic strategy,” says Christoph Belke, a Post-doctoral researcher in robotics. To achieve this, the team had to push the boundaries of various aspects of robotics, including the mechanical and electronic design, computer systems and engineering. “We had to rethink the way we understand robotics,” explains Belke. “These robots can change their own shape, attach to each other, communicate and reconfigure to form functional and articulated structures.”
Mori3 robots were designed in part to be used in spacecraft, which don’t have the room to store different robots for each individual task that needs to be carried out. The researchers hope that Mori3 robots will be used for communication purposes and external repairs.
(Via EPFL.)
Science fiction fans recall TARS, the sarcastic but helpful robot from the 2014 movie Interstellar. TARS was flat, but had interesting methods for locomotion and helping out.
Other real-life flat folding robots include Flatcat Robot Recalls Both Heinlein And Simak and PUFFER Robots - From Philip K DIck's Second Variety?.
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