Bioinspired Robotics
Articles tagged with Bioinspired Robotics
The CIRTESU at the Universitat Jaume I develops an experimental modular robotic fish prototype for aquaculture use that reduces fish stress
The CIRTESU at Universitat Jaume I develops an experimental modular robotic fish prototype for aquaculture, reducing fish stress. The UJIFISH-I platform demonstrates high manoeuvrability and reliable target detection accuracy in controlled tests.
Robotic wing inspired by nature delivers leap in underwater stability
Researchers created a robotic wing that senses and adapts to water flow, achieving double the stability of a barn owl's glide. The wing consumes five times less energy than traditional AUVs, paving the way for more agile and efficient underwater robots.
Engineered biochar–clay “thermal sponge” turns waste wood into a green cooling battery for buildings
Researchers have developed a new composite material that stores and releases heat, reducing temperature swings in buildings. The engineered biochar-clay hybrid increased energy storage capacity by 223% and improved thermal conductivity, demonstrating potential for real-world applications.
Vine-inspired robotic gripper gently lifts heavy and fragile objects
A new robotic design uses vine-like structures to lift and grasp a variety of objects, including humans, with a gentler approach. The robot can snake around obstacles, squeeze through tight spaces, and even secure itself in a closed loop to create a sling.
MIT engineers design an aerial microrobot that can fly as fast as a bumblebee
The MIT team developed a new AI-based controller that enables the robot to follow gymnastic flight paths, such as executing continuous body flips. The robot's speed and acceleration increased by 450% and 250%, respectively, compared to previous demonstrations, making it comparable to insects in terms of agility.
Spider-inspired robot crawls the gut to deliver precision therapy
A team of researchers has developed a tiny, spider-inspired robot that can navigate the digestive system with ease, delivering therapy precisely where it's needed. The soft robot overcomes challenges faced by traditional endoscopes, showcasing its adaptability in traversing complex environments.
UVA Engineering team develops new way to build soft robots that can walk on water
Researchers introduce HydroSpread, a new fabrication method for creating soft robots that can move and adapt on their own. The technology uses liquid polymer to create ultrathin, uniform sheets on water's surface, allowing for complex patterns and controlled movement.
NJIT student–faculty team wins best presentation award for ant swarm simulation
A NJIT student-faculty team won a best presentation award for their research on simulating ant swarm aggregations dynamics. Their study showed that ant swarms exhibit fluid and elastic properties, similar to biological systems.
From static to smart: HIT researchers developed programmable 4D-printed metamaterials that think, change, and perform multiple tasks
HIT researchers created multi-material, multi-responsive, multi-shape shape memory polymer (SMP) gradient metamaterials with tunable properties. These smart materials can adapt to different tasks without extra tools or infrastructure, enabling applications such as secure information storage and soft robotic systems.
‘Bone-ified muscles’ could be robots’ next flex
Researchers have developed soft artificial muscles that provide the performance and mechanical properties required for building robotic musculoskeletal systems. The new muscles can be battery-powered, enabling robots to move more naturally and safely in unstructured environments.
Safely navigating treetops thanks to a scaly tail
Researchers from Empa's Soft Kinetic group studied the rare scaly-tailed squirrels' unique bodily structure, discovering that their thorn-covered scales help them maintain position and grip onto tree bark. The study aims to inform robotics by adopting morphological structures and behaviors honed through millions of years of evolution.
Robotic hand moves objects with human-like grasps
A robotic hand developed at EPFL can pick up 24 different objects with human-like movements that emerge spontaneously due to compliant materials and structures. The device uses 'self-organized' grasps that mimic natural human grips with a high success rate, making it suitable for highly unpredictable environments.
Light-driven cockroach cyborgs navigate without wires or surgery
Researchers created a new type of insect cyborg that can navigate autonomously using UV light to guide movement, preserving sensory organs and maintaining consistent control. The system outperformed traditional methods in tests, with 94% of cyborg insects escaping a maze-like environment compared to just 24% of normal cockroaches.
Engineering a robot that can jump 10 feet high – without legs
Researchers created a soft robot that can hop forward and backward like a jumping parasite thinner than a human hair. The device uses kinks to store energy for rapid release, enabling it to leap 10 feet high.
Robot see, robot do: System learns after watching how-to videos
A new robotic framework allows robots to learn tasks by watching a single how-to video, significantly reducing the time and energy needed for training. The RHyME system enables robots to adapt to real-world environments and perform multiple-step sequences with improved success rates.
RoboBee comes in for a landing
The Harvard RoboBee has been equipped with crane fly-inspired legs and an updated controller, allowing it to land safely on various surfaces. The robot's delicate actuators were protected by the improved design, which enabled controlled landing tests on a leaf and rigid surfaces.
Hopping gives this tiny robot a leg up
Researchers created a hopping robot that can traverse challenging terrains, carry heavy payloads, and uses less energy than aerial robots. The robot's springy leg and flapping-wing modules enable it to jump over obstacles and adjust its orientation mid-air.
These electronics-free robots can walk right off the 3D-printer
Researchers developed electronics-free robots that can walk without electronics, using compressed gas as a power source. The robots were printed in one go from standard 3D printing material and demonstrated three-day operation with air pressure control.
Artificial muscle flexes in multiple directions, offering a path to soft, wiggly robots
MIT engineers have developed a way to grow artificial muscles that twitch and flex in multiple coordinated directions. This breakthrough allows for the creation of soft, wiggly robots with enhanced flexibility and range of motion.
Morphing robot turns challenging terrain to its advantage
A bioinspired robot called GOAT can change shape to alter its physical properties in response to the environment, resulting in a robust and efficient autonomous vehicle. The robot's compliance allows it to navigate diverse environments with minimal sensing equipment, enabling it to find the path of least resistance.
Teaming up tiny robot swimmers to transform medicine
Ebru Demir aims to study how groups of AI-driven microswimmers move in biological fluids for potential applications in drug delivery, fertility treatments, and other medical fields. Her research combines artificial microswimmers with machine learning to uncover the underlying physics governing their movement.
A bio-inspired microwave wireless system for constituting passive and maintenance-free IoT networks
Researchers have proposed a transformative, battery-less wireless sensing system to overcome IoT network deployment and power supply challenges. The bio-inspired system combines exceptional reliability with flexibility, addressing key limitations of traditional rigid wireless systems.
Bio-hybrid drone uses silkworm moth antennae to navigate using smell
Researchers developed a novel bio-hybrid drone by integrating robotic technology with biological odor sensors from insects, overcoming visual sensor limitations. The drone's enhanced performance enables accurate odor detection and tracking, broadening applications in gas sensing, disaster response, and rescue operations.
A miniature swimming robot inspired by marine flatworms
Researchers developed a compact swimming robot that can maneuver through tight spaces and transport heavier payloads. The robot uses silently undulating fins to propel itself and achieves impressive speeds of 12 centimeters per second.
NTT Research and Harvard scientists optimize biohybrid ray development with machine learning
Researchers developed mini biohybrid rays using cardiomyocytes and rubber, demonstrating improved swimming efficiencies approximately two times greater than previous biomimetic designs. The application of machine-learning directed optimization enabled an efficient search for high-performance design configurations.
Combining millions of years of evolution with tech wizardry: the cyborg cockroach
Researchers created cyborg insects with sensors and electronic circuits to aid in disaster relief and navigation. The insects demonstrated ability to overcome obstacles in complex environments, achieving objectives with less effort than purely mechanical robots.
Biohybrid hand gestures with human muscles
Researchers at the University of Tokyo developed a biohybrid hand that can move objects and mimic real-life forms, using multiple muscle tissue actuators created from lab-grown muscle tissue. The hand demonstrated its ability to perform complex gestures, including scissor motions, and showed signs of fatigue but recovered within an hour.
Blood-powered toes give salamanders an arboreal edge
Researchers at Washington State University discovered that wandering salamanders use a unique mechanism to control blood flow in their toe tips, enabling them to optimize attachment and detachment on irregular surfaces. This discovery has implications for bioinspired designed, including the development of adhesives and prosthetics.
A groundbreaking approach: Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio chart the future of neuromorphic computing
Neuromorphic computing is poised to emerge into full-scale commercial use, driven by the need for energy-efficient solutions. The review article proposes strategies for building large-scale neuromorphic systems that can tackle complex real-world challenges.
Electrohydraulic wearable devices create unprecedented haptic sensations
Cutaneous electrohydraulic (CUTE) wearable devices can produce a range of tactile sensations, including pressing and vibrations, with unprecedented control. Users perceive most cues as pleasant, highlighting the technology's potential for assistive technologies and augmented reality.
Bird-inspired drone can jump for take-off
The EPFL researchers built a drone with birdlike legs that can walk, hop, and jump into flight, greatly expanding the potential environments for unmanned aerial vehicles. The design allows it to take off autonomously in previously inaccessible environments.
Manta rays inspire the fastest swimming soft robot yet
Researchers developed a soft robot with fins shaped like manta rays, capable of swimming up and down throughout the water column. The robot uses spontaneous snapping-induced jet flows to achieve high speeds and maneuverability.
Robot flies like a bird
A robotic bird model with real pigeon feathers replicates the continuous adjustments made by birds to stabilize their flight. The robot's algorithm enables rudderless flight, a long-sought innovation in aviation that could lead to more fuel-efficient airplanes and improved jet fighter operations.
Ultra-sensitive robotic “finger” can take patient pulses, check for lumps
Researchers developed a soft robotic finger that can perform routine doctor office examinations, including taking patient pulses and checking for abnormal lumps. The device's advanced sense of touch allows it to detect stiffness similar to human fingers, enabling early disease detection and more efficient medical exams.
New center to improve robot dexterity selected to receive up to $52 million
Researchers will create versatile and easy-to-integrate robots capable of intelligent grasping, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. The goal is to empower diverse workforces with robotic solutions, improving worker productivity and job opportunities.
Designing the ideal soft gripper for diverse functionalities
Researchers at Singapore University of Technology and Design designed a vacuum-actuated hybrid soft gripper to handle delicate objects of varying sizes and shapes. The gripper features soft composite fingers and a palm, enabling wide grasping potential and adaptability to specific tasks.
Flying like a beetle
Scientists have unveiled that beetles' hindwings are passively deployed and retracted, leveraging the elytra to deploy and retract while flapping forces unfold the wings. This finding has potential applications in designing new microrobots that can fly in confined spaces.
A new twist on artificial ‘muscles’ for safer, softer robots
Researchers at Northwestern University developed a new soft actuator that enables robots to move by expanding and contracting like human muscles. The device was used to create a cylindrical, worm-like robot and an artificial bicep, demonstrating its potential for safer and more practical applications.
Caterbot? Robatapillar? It crawls with ease through loops and bends
Researchers at Princeton University and North Carolina State University have combined ancient paperfolding and modern materials science to create a soft robot that can bend and twist through mazes with ease. The new design allows the flexible robot to crawl forward and reverse, pick up cargo and assemble into longer formations.
Using suction cups inspired by fish to listen in on whale conversations
Scientists from Project CETI have developed suction cups inspired by clingfish to attach to sperm whales without causing harm. The new design has shown promise in withstanding the forces of a swimming whale and will be tested on sperm whales in Dominica.
Cicadas’ unique urination unlocks new understanding of fluid dynamics
Researchers studied cicadas' jet-like urination to challenge insect pee paradigms. They found that larger animals like cicadas can emit jets due to gravity and inertial forces, unlike smaller ones that typically produce droplets. This discovery has far-reaching implications for bio-inspired engineering and monitoring applications.
Shuffling robot uses biological muscle to move and spin
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created a two-legged biohybrid robot capable of walking and pivoting underwater. The robot uses lab-grown skeletal muscle tissue to move its legs, achieving efficient and silent movements. Future iterations aim to develop thicker muscles with nutrient supplies to enable robots to walk on land.
Unveiling the aquatic marvel: rock-climbing fish adhesion-sliding feat and its inspiration
The rock-climbing fish's setae structures convert water contact into a sticky gel-like substance, enabling dynamic adhesion. The Climbot robot replicates this mechanism to achieve tight adhesion on moving surfaces.
Tiny, shape-shifting robot can squish itself into tight spaces
Researchers have developed a tiny, squishable robot called CLARI that can change its shape to pass through narrow gaps. The robot's modular design allows it to be customized and expanded with additional legs, enabling potential applications in search and rescue operations after major disasters.
Let the robot insect land and take off on the wall Utilizing hybrid power layout with flying–climbing transition control to complete biological behavior
A team of researchers from Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics developed a bionic robot that can complete smooth movement, including landing on a vertical wall, climbing along the wall, and taking off from the wall. The robot uses a flapping/rotor hybrid power layout to mimic insect's control of body posture.
E-nose sniffs out harmful molecules
Researchers have developed an easy-to-manufacture e-nose that can rapidly and accurately 'sniff-out' volatile compounds, including those used in hazardous waste and disease diagnosis. The sensor uses machine learning to identify specific VOCs and determine their concentration.
Big robot bugs reveal force-sensing secrets of insect locomotion
The study combines real and robotic insects to understand how they sense forces in their limbs while walking. Campaniform sensilla (CS) are force receptors found in insect limbs that respond to stress and strain, providing critical information for controlling locomotion.
Robot centipedes go for a walk
Researchers from Osaka University developed a biomimetic robot that uses dynamic instability to navigate uneven terrain. The robot can switch between straight and curved walking motions, making it suitable for search and rescue operations or planetary exploration.
The first 3D-printed biodegradable seed robot, able to change shape in response to humidity
Researchers at IIT developed a biodegradable seed-robot that can change shape in response to humidity, inspired by the seed structure of a South African geranium. The robot, part of the European project I-Seed, has potential applications in environmental monitoring and reforestation.
Origami-inspired robots can sense, analyze and act in challenging environments
A UCLA-led team developed foldable robots using conductive materials, overcoming chip weight and rigidity issues. The OrigaMechs can sense, analyze and act with precision in extreme environments, making them suitable for disaster response and space exploration.
Robot caterpillar demonstrates new approach to locomotion for soft robotics
The caterpillar-bot uses a novel pattern of silver nanowires to control its movement, with the ability to steer in both directions and navigate through tight spaces. The robot's movement is driven by heating and cooling cycles that allow it to 'relax' before contracting again.
Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage
Researchers at MIT have created a way for tiny robots to recover from severe damage to their wings, enabling them to sustain flight performance. The development uses laser repair methods and optimized artificial muscles that can isolate defects and overcome minor damage, allowing the robot to continue flying effectively.
Grasshopping robots made possible with new, improved latch control
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a latch control system that enables grasshopping robots to perform efficiently on soft substrates. The team discovered that the latch can not only regulate energy output but also mediate energy transfer between the robot and its environment, leading to improved jump performance.
A new bioinspired earthworm robot for future underground explorations
Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia have created a soft robot inspired by earthworms, able to crawl using soft actuators that elongate or squeeze. The prototype demonstrates improved locomotion with a speed of 1.35mm/s and has potential applications in underground exploration, excavation, search and rescue operations.
Ben-Gurion University engineers develop one of the fastest and most efficient amphibious robots
The researchers designed the robot to mimic the movement of flippers in water and centipedes on land, resulting in impressive speeds of 1.5 body lengths per second on land and 0.74 body lengths per second in water. The amphibious robot has potential applications in search and rescue, marine agriculture, and fish feeding.
Click beetle-inspired robots jump using elastic energy
Researchers have developed insect-sized jumping robots capable of navigating tight spaces, with a new study demonstrating two configurations that can successfully jump without manual intervention. The robots use a dynamic buckling cascade process to store and release elastic energy, allowing them to propel themselves upward.
Microrobot assembly line
A team of researchers developed a new method for 3D-printing microrobots with multiple component modules inside the same microfluidic chip. The 'assembly line' approach allowed for the combination of various modules, such as joints and grippers, into a single device. This innovation may help realize the vision of microsurgery performed...
Tiny robotic crab is smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot
Northwestern University engineers created a tiny, remote-controlled walking robot resembling a peekytoe crab. The robot is smaller than a flea and can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn, and jump due to its shape-memory alloy material and elastic resilience.
Self-propelled, endlessly programmable artificial cilia
Researchers from Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed a single-material, single-stimuli microstructure that can outmaneuver even living cilia. These programmable structures could be used for soft robotics, biocompatible medical devices, and dynamic information encryption.