Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Gummi Bots: Biomimetic Soft-Bodied Robots
Biomimetic soft-bodied robots are the result of a robotics project at Tufts University. Researchers like Barry Trimmer are gathered from many different fields; Trimmer's field is neurobiology, and his studies of the tobacco hornworm provide unaccustomed lessons for roboticists.
(The Biomimetic Technologies for Soft-bodied Robots project)
Hard-bodied, rigid mechanical robots have many limitations; their joints limit range of motion. The Tufts researchers are looking into robots with a skin made of a silicone rubber (brand name: Dragon Skin). The soft-bodied robots wriggle forward with springs embedded in the silicone rubber segments. As a current is passed through a spring, it contracts, bending the robot.
In this way, the "Gummi Bot" (that's my name for them - TM Technovelgy.com!) can wriggle forward like a caterpillar. So far, researchers have been able to propagate a ripple of movement the length of the robot's body. By the end of the year, the team hopes to have full caterpillar motion.
The eventual design goal is to have soft-bodied robots that are able to perform disagreeable tasks in the field, like looking for land mines or finding their way into hard-to-reach spaces in dangerous environments (like nuclear reactors or space craft).
The Tufts researchers would do well to take a look at some of these other soft-bodied and biomimetic research robots:
- Soft Robot Powered By Shape Memory Alloy Spokes
- Snake-Arm Robot In A Plane
- Snake Robot Roundup!
- Snake-Arm Robots From OCRobotics Reach Out
Via NYTimes (registration required).
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/27/2007)
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 ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.' - Gordon R. Dickson, 1957.
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...' -Philip K. Dick, 1960.
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.' - Aldo Giunta, 1957
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.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
