- Published on August 17, 2012
- The Los Angeles Times
- http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-camouflage-robot-20120817,0,308264.story
As the years go by, technology catches on with us and improves as we go. Whether it is new versions of the iPhone or 3D televisions, technology never seems to disappoint us. With all these inventions in technology, it is not surprising to see a newly invented robot. Created by the researchers at Harvard, one of the top universities in the United States, this robot is probably the first 'soft' robots. Unlike most robots and how we vision them to be, this robot is built without a hard shell. Inspired by the creatures that inhabit the sea, the robot is built to look like the invertebrates in the sea, such as starfishes and squids. Not only is it small, but is soft, squishy, flexible, changes it's temperature, can change color, can camouflage, and glows in the dark! Since small shapes of cylinders are placed into it's body, it starts to move with the pumping of air into these cylinders. With all these remarkable parts of the robot, it will someday be useful to us. "If you were trapped in a collapsed building, one of these squishy robots could be sent squeezing itself into the rubble, glowing and obvious, to lead you on a path to safety" (Deborah Netburn, The LA Times). While this robot is yet to be used, it definitely does not fail to prove to us that technology will keep getting better and does so.
Video of the robot: http://video.sciencemag.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment