 |
'Sandfish' Robot Moves Through Sand
A new sand-diving robot based on the sandfish lizard has been developed by a team led by Daniel I. Goldman, a physicist at Georgia Institute of Technology.
The sandfish lizard tucks in its limbs and wiggles forward with a whole-body sinusoidal traveling wave motion. Take a look at this video to see how the robot imitates the living organism.
(Sandfish robot video)
the team built a 35-centimetre-long version of the robot, made from seven aluminium segments linked by six motors, all clothed in spandex to prevent the motors from becoming jammed.The team then tested their robot by burying it in a container filled with plastic spheres 6 millimetres across. When the robot undulated its body at a frequency similar to the lizard, they found it could move forward at speeds of up to 0.3 body lengths per wave cycle - just below the 0.4 body lengths per cycle that a submerged lizard can achieve.
The intent is to create robots that can easily move through rubble to find and rescue people trapped in earthquakes or other catastrophes.
Science fiction writers (and readers) tend to find more sinister uses for robots that move easily through the earth and sand. For example, the claws from Philip K. Dick's 1953 story Second Variety are described burrowing upward from underground robotic factories - they "run and burrow."
(Claws - or Screamers - from the 1995 movie)
Consider also the robot earthworms from Harry Harrison's 1962 short story War With The Robots.
Read more about the sandfish lizard-based robot research and see the more recent New Scientist article.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/26/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Amazon Patents Annoying Robot That Follows You
'The... machine, being homotropic, headed toward them, still bleating...' - Philip K. Dick, 1963.
Rovable Robots Crawl Across Your Body
'Most of the crew have the tiny imp ride on their shoulder...' - Robert Forward, 1985.
Autonomous Robots Navigate Like Rats
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.' - Ray Bradbury, 1950.
SINTEF Robot Cleans Solar Panels
'The window cleaners, with large padded feet...' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1972.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
RFID Chipped Employees Of Three Square Market
'About a third of the people in Manhattan have replaced their Freedom Card with a radio-frequency chip...'
JAXA's Int-Ball Drone To Follow Astronauts In Space Station
'I want you to build me some of those.'
Amazon Patents Annoying Robot That Follows You
'The... machine, being homotropic, headed toward them, still bleating...'
Hand Gestures And Body Poses Control Devices
'He waved his hand... the circuit switched...'
Rovable Robots Crawl Across Your Body
'Most of the crew have the tiny imp ride on their shoulder...'
Sansar Social Virtual Reality Platform In 2017?
'And just as a daydreamer forgets his actual surroundings, and sees other realities...'
Cellphone Harvests Power From Ambient Radio Signals And Light
A battery-free phone.
Desktopography Makes Virtual Desktops Real
'Ender doodled on his desk, drawing contour maps of mountainous islands and then telling his desk to display them in three dimensions...'
LaWS Laser Can Take Out Rogue Drones
Looks like a weapon for the Runaway squad!
Moon Express Lunar Robot Mining: Shine On, Harvest Moon
'The bulldozer moved through the lunar strip mine... '
Liquid Body Armor For TALOS Exoskeleton
'... instantly became rigid all over when something struck it...'
Hyperloop One Video Shows It Works!
'Complete evacuation of the interior of the tubes [and] a wave that provides the new propulsive energy for the cars...'
Chairless Chair Exoskeleton By Sapetti
'Earth's scientists... devised rigid metallic clothing...'
Publishing Technologies In Science Fiction
Well, this should be enough references to start...
Russia Working On Military Exoskeletons
'Вы похожи на большую стальную гориллу...'
3D Printed Bionic Chinese Skin
Your skin is ready!
