Communications of the ACM
From Drinking Straws to Robots
Harvard University researchers have created a type of semi-soft robot capable of standing and walking, as well as a robotic water strider capable of pushing itself along a liquid surface.
Credit: Whiteside Group
Researchers at Harvard University have created a type of semi-soft robot that can stand and walk, and a different robotic water strider that can push itself along a liquid surface.
The new robots are much more nimble than earlier generations of soft robots, which could stand and walk awkwardly by inflating air chambers in their bodies.
The researchers say the new robots eventually could be used in search and rescue operations following natural disasters or in conflict zones.
The team built the soft robots by creating a joint out of a drinking straw. The researchers started by cutting a notch in the straws, enabling them to bend, and then they inserted short lengths of tubing which, when inflated, would force the joints to extend.
"We put together a microcontroller run by Arduino that uses valves and a central compressor," says Harvard's Nemiroski. "That allowed us the freedom to evolve their gait rapidly."
From Harvard Gazette
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