Successful production of earthworm robots: Works similar to real worms

Experts from Case Western Reserve University (CWR - USA) argue that earthworms - small organisms have a certain role in agriculture, are holding the key to the birth of a generation of soft-bodied robots . Specifically, the group of scientists simulated the movement by using the peristalsis of the worm to apply to their machines.

Successfully build robotic worms with many applications

Many living organisms use peristalsis, however, earthworms move by combining its special muscles and fluid bags. This makes the worms become thinner and longer, or wider and shorter, making it a self-propelled process. Basically, but the researchers think that this way of moving is not entirely simple.

Andrew Horchler - CWR expert said he and his team had a more complex understanding of the connection between the nervous system and physical activity, thereby helping them develop a robot by how Copy this system, on a larger scale. Accordingly, the head, body and tail of the worm, all use a unique form of motion thanks to the array of nerve cells, allowing it to move in a much wider range than with body length.

That's exactly what Horchler and his colleagues put on the product called CMMWorm - a modular robot worm with an artificial neuron controller, which can make changes of Waveforms throughout the body. That means the whole body of the robot is as important as "brain": "It is a module and can be added or removed, just like a Lego model uses dozens of heads. All 3D is connected together with soft nylon tubes Inside the "intestine" of the worm robot, the actuator controls elasticity to create waves'.

At the annual meeting of the Neuroscience in Chicago (USA), Horchler demonstrated that a worm robot could be assembled using modules, simultaneously, plugging in or removing parts to replace resizing only takes a few seconds, as you can see in the video below.

Application

Perhaps you are wondering what these robot worms were created for. According to scientists, their research has a wide range of applications, from micro (a safer and less painful tool for medical endoscopy) to macro (creeping into tunnels and tubes). Congested sewers or dangerous rubble in rescue work). Up to the present time, there are not a few soft, compact body robots that serve similar purposes. However, it can be said that this product is able to operate in the most flexible and easy to control way thanks to smart design.