(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/NASA)
Various robot designs have existed, but the most bug-like one behaves like an insect—it can crawl, leap, and do more.
Most Bug-Like Robot
Robots have long drawn inspiration from insects. The world of insects is full of tiny, fully autonomous, highly mobile, energy-efficient, multimodal, self-repairing, and I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Roboticists find inspiration and frustration in the fact that it is so difficult to get robots to function even remotely like insects.
Shanghai Jong Tong University researchers presented the most lifelike robotic bug in a new study. Although it doesn't have the most bug-like appearance, it can handle numerous extremely bug-like movements, such as crawling, landing, taking off horizontally, flying, hovering, and self-righting as needed.
JT-fly weighs roughly 35 grams with a 33-centimeter wingspan. It uses four wings to simultaneously fly up to five meters per second and six legs to scamper at 0.3 meters per second. It can fly for around 8 minutes and crawl for roughly 60 minutes on its 380 milliampere-hour battery.
Even though it might not seem like much, these kinds of robots aren't always meant to be moving all the time. Instead, they make a small movement, choose an excellent, secure perch, and continue to sense or do other functions until you instruct them to relocate. While crawling would be the ideal mode of locomotion, JT-fly's ability to fly makes it far more helpful.
The researchers are considering using the robot for disaster assistance. They note that earthquakes and mudslides can severely damage roads and buildings. JT-fly can use its flight ability when deployed to the mission area.
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Origami-Inspired Robot for Space Travel
Another robot created last year was inspired by origami. The polygon robot can transform itself, making it helpful for space travel.
Mori3 is a robot that can change into nearly any 3D object. It was developed by scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. The authors claim that the modular design allows astronauts to use it for various purposes while in space.
According to Jamie Paik, co-author of the paper and leader of EPFL's Reconfigurable Robotics Lab, Mori3's objective is to create a modular, origami-like robot that can be put together and taken apart based on the environment and task at hand. Mori3 can change its size, shape, and function.
The robot itself is shaped like a triangle. Combined with more Mori3s, it may be fashioned in any way you choose. Think about the polygons used to create forms in video game visuals. It is capable of changing into any form you require.
This suggests the robot can move, interact with its environment, and control objects. Co-author of the paper and EPFL robotics researcher Christoph Belke stressed the need to reevaluate our understanding of robots. These robots can reconfigure, unite, and interact with one another to form articulated, mobile structures.
According to the authors, Mori3 is intended to be more of a general-purpose robot. It is capable of adapting to any spaceship duty that may be needed. This versatility might benefit future astronauts as they handle any issues during an interplanetary mission, such as internal transportation or external repairs in the vacuum of space.
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