Communications of the ACM
Streamlined Cockroaches Inspire Highly Maneuverable Robots
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are trying to design robots that incorporate the ability of cockroaches to roll and scoot through gaps.
Credit: BIoinspiration & Biomimetics
The maneuverability of cockroaches could point the way toward robots that could easily slip through gaps in a clutter of objects.
University of California, Berkeley researchers have found the rounded shells of cockroaches play a key role in their ability to roll and scoot through gaps such as grass and leaves on a forest floor. Their shells have a simple, streamlined shape.
Chen Li and colleagues added shells of various sizes to a cockroach-like robot, and found a similarly rounded, oval carapace enabled it to slip through gaps, while typical box-like robots are often stopped in their tracks.
Li notes most studies look to avoid obstacles by using sensors to map the environment and algorithms to plan a path around them. However, Li says this approach runs into problems in densely cluttered terrain because a clear path cannot be mapped.
Li believes his research could be useful for robots involved in monitoring, search and rescue, and other operations.
From UC Berkeley NewsCenter
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