This may sound like it is straight out of the movies, but NASA developed a shape-shifting robot that can fly, roll, float, and even swim, and then morph into one machine. NASA is calling this new technology as Shapeshifters. NASA released an announcement on Sept. 25 stating that their team of engineers tested a 3D-printed prototype of a mini-robot at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
The vision that they have for the Shapeshifter is that several robots, called "cobots," can assemble and become one large robot. Cobots are equipped with small propellers that can move on their own or together when required. The functions of these cobots include cave exploring, swimming, flying, and rolling along the surface of Saturn's moons.
Shapeshifter is just one of the many projects that were funded by NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program, and they are meant to test different ideas that could eventually be useful for space exploration. While the robotic program could be used and sent to numerous solar system destinations, Ali Agha, the Principal Investigator of JPL, considers Titan as the ideal destination.
Titan is one of Saturn's moons, and it has only one probe land on its surface, according to what explorers have seen. The previous records of NASA's orbital mission showed that Titan is much like Earth. It may be covered in a thick, orange cloud, but it has a liquid cycle, much like Earth. The only difference is that instead of liquid water, the rivers, lakes, and rain are flowing with ethane and methane.
There are still so many things that scientists can learn and discover about Titan. Ali Agha, the leader of the Shapeshifter program for JPL, has a vision that Shapeshifter will someday land on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and discover more than the liquid in the moon that runs in its rives, lakes, and seas. NASA stated that their new technology, Shapeshifter, is a transformational vehicle and is still a developing concept that is meant to explore distant and treacherous worlds.
The team that created the Shapeshifter is requesting more funding from NIAC Phase II; they are waiting on the selection process in 2020. While the Shapeshifter team prepares for new funding, NASA is already working hard on a rotorcraft lander that is scheduled for Titan. This mission will launch Dragonfly, a drone that can spot any form of life, and it is scheduled to be introduced in 2026.
