A number of scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, and Seoul National University created a soft robot shaped earthworm.
Earthworm robot can perform peristalsis and crawling across the surface by contracting part of its body was created from a soft and elastic material. When the robot get hit with a hammer, the robot was still able to move without damage.
The official website of MIT, Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering MIT, Sangbae Kim and Harold E. Edgerton, said the robot is useful to indicate the direction in rough terrain, or narrow in a narrow space.
The robot named “Meshworm” was made from nickel and titanium wire circuit as an artificial muscle that can stretch and heat resistance.
The researchers wrapped the wire around the tube and make the vessel segments in the entire body of the robot so that it has the the same shape of earthworm. Meshworm motion mechanism can be seen in the Youtube provided MIT researchers.
“You can throw it and it will not be damaged. The Meshworm machines are generally rigid and brittle in a small shock, but all parts Meshworm fibrous and flexible … we are starting to show some ability to change the body,” said Kim.