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Meshworm Soft Robot, With Peristaltic Crawling, Is Getting Better

In 2017, I reported on a soft robot that moved by peristaltic crawling (see Meshworm Inches Toward You (Thanks, Harry Harrison)) - the video below shows how much it has improved.

In the previous article I reference the robot earthworm from War With The Robots by Harry Harrison, published in 1962. But I thought you might like the illustration from a 1928 story by Marius called Vandals from the Moon:

(Metal Worms from 'Vandals from the Moon' by Marius)

An oncoming Southern Pacific freight train headed for the Los Angeles yards, however, spurred one of the flexible metal monsters into immediate action to display its prowess. One second after the screeching locomotive had been sighted by the nearest one of the Lunite warmachines, this ironclad worm turned its head toward the tracks and with a queer wriggling movement soon reached a nearby iron railroad bridge. Wrapping itself twice or three times around a number of steel girders, it tore the structure in a moment from its strong foundation of concrete blocks, twisting the thick steel as if it were wire. The locomotive engineer put on the brakes a moment too late and twisted steel and shattered wood piled up into a colossal funeral pyre for its dead crew.
(Read more about the metal worms)

As you can see, the Meshworm idea has lots of potential to go big. I mean, big!

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/25/2024)

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