[Tyler]

Caterpillars Inspire Rapid Mode of Motion
     

Researchers from
Tufts University
have taken inspiration from certain caterpillars to develop
a rapid mode of locomotion, called ballistic rolling, for use
by caterpillar-like robots. Two videos posted on YouTube show
ballistic rolling in closeup and slow motion.
The first
shows an actual caterpillar displaying this behavior,
followed by a robot mimicking it, and
the second
shows the robot again, in slow motion.
This work is being done at
Tufts Biomimetic Devices Laboratory
(BDL),
directed by
Dr. Barry Trimmer,
in conjunction with faculty from Tufts'
Department of Mechanical
Engineering.
An NSF Science Nation video about their work
is featured on
BDL's In the News page,
and there's also a
CBC Radio
interview with Dr. Trimmer
on their website. A paper on the subject
GoQBot: a caterpillar-inspired soft-bodied rolling robot
is temporarily available for free.
(Found on
Science
Daily,  
Institute of
Physics,
Physorg.com, and
Make: Online)

   

http://robots.net/article/3161.html