What benefits can a robotic maple seed bring to mankind, you ask? Maple seeds, while they might look innocent as they spiral down in the wind, are actually quite efficient fliers. And so, to emulate this efficient flight, Lockheed Martin created the SAMARAI. Named after “samara” for maple seed, the SAMARAI has one wing and […]
The newest soft-serve robot is here! Made by researchers at MIT, Meshworm is modeled after earthworms. Similar also to snails and sea cucumbers, the Meshworm uses stretching and squeezing motions to propel itself forward, utilizing the segments of its body. Even though the Meshworm seems soft, it’s actually quite durable, using nickel and titanium to […]
What is so attractive about a robot that mimics a jellyfish? Well, it’s theoretically immortal, has a simple repetitive movement that cycles slowly and easily, and it can travel deep underwater. RoboJelly is a robotic jellyfish that does all of this. Based on the moon jellyfish, it has a bell as a body, and pulses […]
This tiny little bug weighs in at an impressive 16 grams. The lightweight, simple construction is achieved through “Smart Composite Microstructures” (SCM). The SCM process follows a few simple steps that essentially create a sandwich with rigid composites on the outside with flexible polymer inside. By controlling the location of the flexible polymer, the resulting structure can […]
Straight out of the 1958 science-fiction movie, “The Blob,” the Chembot is an amorphous blob that will hopefully be helping soldiers on the battlefield! Made by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) of the Pentagon, the Chembot is able to change between a semi-liquid and solid state with the inflation or deflation with air. By […]
This is one of the most versatile robot I’ve ever seen. It has 6 legs, and interchangeable leg pads to do everything from driving around to climbing nets to picking up objects using its legs. The robot can even drop down to only a few inches off the floor and “crawl” forward to get under obstacles. Currently, the […]
