Centipede Robots with More Legs Better at Walking Over Bumps

 Centipede Robots with More Legs Better at Walking Over Bumps

By New Scientist, May 12, 2023

More legs, greater stability.

In repeated experiments, robots with fewer legs showed lots of variation in how long they took to move between two points. Robots with 14 and 16 legs navigated more quickly.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that multi-legged robots with more legs were better at navigating rough terrain than those with fewer legs.  The robots were made of three-dimensionally printed body segments that featured two legs and multiple motors, with each robot having a total of six to 16 legs.  The robots moved in a pre-programmed manner through an obstacle course comprised of stacks of small cubes.

The researchers observed that robots with 14 and 16 legs traveled faster and had similar times in different trials.

From New Scientist

3D-Knitted Robots

3D-Knitted Robots 

By Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

May 17, 2023,  Part of a woven inchworm-like inspection robot.

The researchers demonstrated different knit robot prototypes, including gripper devices with bending and grasping appendages, a multi-chamber claw, an inchworm-like robot, and a snake-like actuator capable of picking up objects much heavier than itself.

Researchers at Harvard University, the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute (RI), the Rhode Island School of Design, the Parsons School of Design, and the Fashion Institute of Technology printed soft robots using three-dimensional (3D) knitting technology.

RI's James McCann helped develop software to automate the knitting process, which involved developing soft actuators to create a set of parametric patterns.

The researchers defined the patterns with knitting descriptions written in general-purpose coding languages, then composed code to run those descriptions on a knitting machine.

They tested 20 combinations of yarn, structure, and other factors to describe the effect of diverse knit architectures on folding and unfolding, structural geometry, and tensile properties, which were translated into robot prototypes.

From Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

View Full Article   

Very Small, An Insectothopter

 Always been interested in very small biomimicy.  Here mimicing insects, no longer around, or is it? 

Meet the CIA’s Insectothopter Sadly, the 1-gram spy craft couldn’t withstand a gentle breeze, but later dragonfly-inspired UAVs proved far more capable  By Allison  March  in Spectrum IEEE

IT WAS THE 1970S, the Cold War was in full swing, and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Research and Development had developed a miniaturized listening device. But they didn’t have a good way to maneuver the device into place without raising suspicions.

After scrapping the idea of a mechanical bumblebee, CIA engineers prototyped a dragonfly to carry the bug. Dubbed the Insectothopter, the bug-carrying bug was the agency’s first insect-size unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and it seemed to show potential. Under ideal conditions, it had a range of 200 meters and a flight time of 60 seconds.

Photo: CIA Museum Flight Kit: The propulsion system for the Insectothopter was based around a miniature fluidic oscillator, which moved the wings up and down to mimic a real dragonfly’s flight.

In taking a cue from nature, CIA engineers were wise to choose the dragonfly. Dragonflies are nimble aerialists, able to hover, glide, and even fly backward. They can turn 180 degrees in three wingbeats. The Insectothopter’s 6-⁠centimeter-long body and 9-cm wingspan were well within the range of an actual dragonfly’s dimensions. Plus, dragonflies are native to every continent except Antarctica, so their presence would be unremarkable, at least in the appropriate season.   ....  According to a CIA description, the robobug was supposed to work like this:

A laser beam directed at a bimetallic strip in the insectothopter’s tail guided the device. That same laser beam acted as a data link for the miniature acoustic sensor onboard the craft. A miniature oscillating engine drove the wings; the fuel bladder contained a liquid propellant that when mixed with an oxifier created additional thrust.

Unfortunately, even the gentlest breeze blew the 1-gram Insectothopter off course. It’s unclear if the laser guidance and data link were ever implemented. In any event, the UAV never flew an actual spy mission. ,,,, '

Self-Folding Nanotech Creates Origami Bird

A combination of favorite topics,  small robots(nanoscale here) and Origami representations. Includes images and video of their prposed development and use.

Self-Folding Nanotech Creates Origami Bird, Presages Nanoscale Robots  By Cornell Chronicle.  March 18, 2021

Cornell researchers have created micron-sized shape memory actuators that enable atomically thin two-dimensional materials to fold themselves into 3D configurations. All they require is a quick jolt of voltage. Once the material is bent, it holds its shape.

As a demonstration, the team created what is potentially the world's smallest self-folding origami bird.

The group describes their work in "Micrometer-Sized Electrically Programmable Shape Memory Actuators for Low-Power Microrobotics," published in Science Robotics.

The research is a step in "learning how to construct machines that are as small as cells," says Paul McEuen, the John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science at Cornell University.

The actuators consist of a nanometer-thin layer of platinum capped with a titanium or titanium dioxide film. Several rigid panels of silicon dioxide glass sit atop those layers. When a positive voltage is applied to the actuators, oxygen atoms are driven into the platinum and swap places with platinum atoms. This oxidation process causes the platinum to expand on one side in the seams between the inert glass panels, which bends the structure into its predesignated shape. ... 

From Cornell Chronicle: Full article

Sidewalk Robots Get Rights

Coming changes in urban and suburban views.

Sidewalk robots get legal rights as "pedestrians"   By Jennifer A. Kingson in Axios

As small robots proliferate on sidewalks and city streets, so does legislation that grants them generous access rights and even classifies them, in the case of Pennsylvania, as "pedestrians."

Why it matters: Fears of a dystopian urban world where people dodge heavy, fast-moving droids are colliding with the aims of robot developers large and small — including Amazon and FedEx — to deploy delivery fleets. ... ' 

Magnetic Spray Transforms Objects Into Insect-Scale Robots for Biomed

 Quite a remarkable statement.   Just by itself.    Just spray it on.  Awaiting the demos.  Back to my favorite small robotics theme. 

Magnetic Spray Transforms Objects Into Insect-Scale Robots for Biomedical Applications   By SciTechDaily

The reptile millirobot changes from caterpillar motion to concertina motion after reprogramming. 

A research team at City University of Hong Kong developed an easy way to make millirobots, by coating objects with a glue-like magnetic spray.

An easy way to make millirobots by coating objects with a glue-like magnetic spray was developed in a joint research led by a scientist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU). Driven by the magnetic field, the coated objects can crawl, walk, or roll on different surfaces. As the magnetic coating is biocompatible and can be disintegrated into powders when needed, this technology demonstrates the potential for biomedical applications, including catheter navigation and drug delivery.

The research team is led by Dr. Shen Yajing, Associate Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at CityU in collaboration with the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The research findings have been published in the scientific journal Science Robotics, titled "An agglutinate magnetic spray transforms inanimate objects into millirobots for biomedical applications." ... 

Cyborg Cockroaches

Remain interested in small and very small robotic devices.    And cooperating swarms.   They don't need to be scarythough.

A Swarm of Cyborg Cockroaches That Lives in Your House

Japanese researchers say turning cockroaches into an army of insect cyborgs could be useful in a variety of ways   By Evan Ackerman

Small Sensors and Robotics: Insects in Tow

Back to our interest here in small robotics and now taking it beyond bio mimicry to directly using insectoriva.

Researchers Use Flying Insects to Drop Sensors Safely    By UW News

 A Manduca sexta moth carrying a sensor on its back. ... 

University of Washington researchers have created a sensor small and light enough to ride on the back of an insect for deployment.

Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have created a 98-milligram sensor that can access difficult- or dangerous-to-reach areas by riding on a small drone or an insect and being dropped when it reaches its destination.

The sensor is released when it receives a Bluetooth command and can fall up to 72 feet at a maximum speed of 11 mph without breaking, then collect data like temperature or humidity levels for nearly three years.

Said UW's Shyam Gollakota, "This is the first time anyone has shown that sensors can be released from tiny drones or insects such as moths, which can traverse through narrow spaces better than any drone and sustain much longer flights."The system could be used to create a sensor network within a study area researchers wish to monitor.

From University of Washington

Palm Sized Robotics

More in the space of miniature robotics, that could ultimately be brought together to do tasks.

Video Friday: Bittle Is a Palm-Sized Robot Dog Now on Kickstarter

Your weekly selection of awesome robot videos  By Evan Ackerman, Erico Guizzo and Fan Shi   ....

More Small Robots, Exploring

They get smaller yet.

Army of a Million Microscopic Robots Created to Explore on Tiny Scale
New Scientist
Layal Liverpool
August 26, 2020

University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) researchers have developed microscopic robots that move by themselves, using an actuator fashioned from a thin layer of platinum. Each robot uses four such actuators as legs, while dorsal solar cells allow the legs to bend in response to sequenced laser light and drive the bodies forward. UPenn's Marc Miskin and colleagues mass-produced more than 1 million of the microrobots, using a process similar to that used in manufacturing circuit boards. Miskin said the microrobots demonstrate the possibility of developing and mass-producing devices with on-board electronics. Next, Miskin said, "We're developing things where we'll have sensing capabilities, we'll have programmability, stuff like that."

And Smaller Robots Yet

Only 5 microns in size, paramecium sized.    Likely applications in healthcare.  And?

Microscopic robots 'walk' thanks to laser tech  in TechXPlore
by Cornell University

A Cornell University-led collaboration has created the first microscopic robots that incorporate semiconductor components, allowing them to be controlled—and made to walk—with standard electronic signals.

These robots, roughly the size of paramecium, provide a template for building even more complex versions that utilize silicon-based intelligence, can be mass produced, and may someday travel through human tissue and blood.

The collaboration is led by Itai Cohen, professor of physics, Paul McEuen, the John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science and their former postdoctoral researcher Marc Miskin, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

The team's paper, "Electronically Integrated, Mass-Manufactured, Microscopic Robots," published in Nature.

The walking robots are the latest iteration, and in many ways an evolution, of Cohen and McEuen's previous nanoscale creations, from microscopic sensors to graphene-based origami machines. ... "

Electronically integrated, mass-manufactured, microscopic robots, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2626-9 ,  www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2626-9

Robotics of the Small

A favorite topic, here another:

This tiny robotic beetle travels for two hours without a battery
Liquid methanol powers RoBeetle’s artificial muscles.

Christine Fisher, @cfisherwrites
August 21, 2020

A team of researchers from the University of Southern California have created a miniscule autonomous robotic beetle, RoBeetle, that can travel for more than two hours without a battery. The 88-milligram, insect-inspired robot runs on liquid methanol, which powers its artificial muscles, and it can carry payloads 2.6 times its own body weight. ... " 

Very Small Robots

Small task specific robotics are a long time interest.  With clear application for pharma delivery and other healthcare sensor and related work.

Introducing the World’s smallest Microelectronic robot
This breakthrough invention would pave the way for the use of autonomous microbots in targeted medicinal delivery
By Faisal Khan

Tiny robots are nothing new to the world of technology, but this recent invention claims to be the smallest of them all. Nanobots are hypothesized solutions of the future, which can deliver targeted medication within a human body. If this idea eventually gets materialized, it would be the first such step in that direction. The team of international researchers working on this novel concept was led by Prof. Dr. Oliver G. Schmidt, Chair of the Professorship of Material Systems for Nanoelectronics at Chemnitz University of Technology.

Researchers on the team claim they have created the smallest Microelectronic robot of the world — more importantly, one which is propelled by “jet engines.” Dr. Schmidt, a pioneer in the field of micro-robotics and micrometers, along with his three colleagues conceived the idea of the smallest man-made jet engine in 2010. He received the Guinness World Record for his amazing invention.
Building on the decade-old research, Schmidt along with this fellow researchers at the Technical University of Dresden and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun have now come up with a microelectronic robot which is 0.8 mm long, 0.8 mm wide and 0.14 mm tall — for context, a one-cent coin has a diameter of around 16mm.

“We construct the microbot initially in such a way that it swims in circles if no heat is applied at all. If some heat is applied, the turning is compensated and the microbot swims in a straight line. If more heat is applied, the microrobot turns in the other direction.”
~Dr. Oliver G. Schmidt, Lead Researcher ... "