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 ... »

Natural silk, fibers made by spiders and silkworms, is a material that is tougher than kevlar or steel, yet remarkably flexible. In recent years, researchers have worked to gain a better understanding of what silk is and how it’s made, with the goal of being able to consistently replicate and enhance its production synthetically. Aside ... »

Weird movements in the abdomens of freely crawling caterpillars are making headlines in the fields of biology and engineering. The findings from a multidisciplinary team of researchers, including Jake Socha, Virginia Tech assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics, Michael Simon of Tufts University’s Department of Biology, and Barry Trimmer, professor of biology at Tufts, ... »