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 Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 12:34 am Post subject: Robotic Insect walks on Water!! |
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Inspired by nature's water strider insect, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have engineered a bug-like robot that can skate across water.
Not only does such a machine provide deeper insight into the real insect's ability to move, it gives engineers a new paradigm for thinking about how to build fast, maneuverable devices.
Made of a lightweight metal, the robot weighs only 0.6 gram. But the lightness alone is not what keeps it walking on water.
Tiny hairs on the ends of its legs that repel water keep the actual insect afloat. Sitti keeps his bugs buoyant by dipping the legs in a water-resistant Teflon solution.
Three flexible joint-like connections called actuators — one on the body and one located where each side leg attaches to the body — give the robot the flexibility it needs for motion.
The actuators, made from a ceramic-metallic composite layered on top of a stainless steel plate, shrink or expand when Sitti applies a voltage to them.
Varying the frequency of the electric current going to each leg allows Sitti to steer the robotic insect left, right, forward or backward.
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Tom Elner, BEAM robotics@ Liverpool Uni
http://www.tombot.net |
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