Despite their extreme flexibility and adaptability, current soft-bodied robots are often limited by their slow speed. Inspired by the ability of some caterpillars to rapidly curl themselves into a wheel and propel themselves away from predators, a team of researchers from the Tufts University, Massachusetts, have developed GoQBot – a soft-bodied robot with a similar… »
The lateral line is a hydrodynamic imaging system found in fish and aquatic amphibians enables them to accomplish a variety of underwater activities such as localization of moving prey or predators, detection of stationary objects, schooling without colliding and social communication. It consists of numerous hair cell sensors called neuromasts which are distributed all over… »
Tiny snails sitting on the ocean floor might seem defenseless against a large, determined predator such as a crab. But evolution has provided one species of sea snail with a unique iron-plated armored shell that resists such attacks. The snail has evolved a tri-layered shell structure consisting of an outer layer embedded with iron sulfide… »
After their work on Whiskerbot, a group of researchers from the University of Sheffield and the Bristol Robotics Lab has created the SCRATCHBot (Spatial Cognition and Representation through Active TouCh), which uses its plastic whiskers in a sweeping back and forth motion to find its way round, much like a real rat. Many rodents have… »
Another great example of bio-mimetic robots is a solution many mariners, oil outfits, and the military have big hopes for. RoboClam, designed at the MIT, is meant to become the first “smart” anchor, a major departure from the prosaic piece of nautical gear that hasn’t changed much in centuries. Its present diminutive size is just… »
As researchers around the world work to uncover new materials to combat marine biofouling, the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) is supporting the development of novel approaches that are proving to be effective at biofouling prevention. In fact, the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Carderock (NSWCCD) estimates that biofouling reduces vessel speed by up… »
With this article we’re starting a new series on our website and it is about architecture. Due to the changes regarding our environment and temperature it is important to emphasize the new ideas and techniques that bring more balance between our creations and nature. Creating architecture which mimics nature or shows technological advances covers two… »
Humans have always wondered how water beads roll off flowers, as well off caterpillars and some other insects, and how insects like water striders are able to walk on water. It’s a property called super hydrophobia. Self-cleaning counter tops, fabrics, walls, even micro-robots that can walk on water – all those things and more could… »
