Harvard's Michael Tolley created the 65cm long, soft, pneumatic robot whose operating parameters allow it to run over -9'C terrain or walk through naked flames (for 20 seconds, at least).
This prototype still has its power-pack on the outside, making it vulnerable to immersion, acid and other depredations, but the next step involves sealing all the good stuff within the robot's soft body.
In experiments, Tolley's robot was able to walk through a snowstorm with temperatures reaching -9 °C, withstand flames for 20 seconds, resist water and acids as well as having its limbs driven over by a car. Since the electrical components of the prototype are exposed, it was only the resilience of the body that was tested. But Tolley claims that embedding the electronics in the soft body could be a quick fix.
The team sees the design as a starting point for a new generation of soft robots that can jump, slither and grasp delicate objects.
Tolley and his colleagues plan to improve the speed and mobility of the robot, for example by adding feet, as well as programming it to respond to obstacles or navigate towards a goal.
Rubbery robot battles flames, snow and gets run over [Sandrine Ceurstemont/New Scientist]
(via JWZ)
