Harvard assembled a soft robot

“Soft” of this robot can be called in the sense that it does not have a hard case. We are all accustomed to the fact that robots, no matter whether they are industrial plants, or humanoid devices, have a rigid body. Most robots today are a complex system that includes many hundreds, if not thousands, of parts. But at Harvard University decided to go the other way, and created a device with an elastic body. The principle of operation of such a device is similar to the principle of movement of invertebrate organisms, for example, starfish.

True, so far, specialists from Harvard are working only on the principle of movement of the "robot", nothing else has been discussed so far. The advantages of “soft” robots can be stability, relative cheapness (plastic used in the construction is inexpensive). Plus, such robots will practically not receive damage when they fall, and there’s nothing to break into them - no bearings, joints, etc.

For movement, this robot uses compressed air and pressure changes in different parts of its “body”. Inside the robot - a system of valves that allow you to create sections with different pressures. Under the influence of pressure, the plastic is deformed, and the "soft" robot moves. So far, scientists have proposed a project with four "limbs", but in the future there may be more. The robot is moving quite well, scientists were even able to get it to go under the glass (preview photo).



Of course, in the full sense of the word, this plastic creation can hardly be called a robot, but if you add all kinds of electronic components (miniature, so as not to interfere with the movement), and improve the supply of compressed air, but you can achieve impressive results. The problem so far is precisely the need to supply compressed air for the movement of the robot - it is unlikely that such a device can be called autonomous. But, probably, everything is solved, and after some time, scientists will present a more perfect "robot".

Via washingtonpost