Don`t swat this Robo-roach

Don’t swat this Robo-roach
The cockroach may be the planet’s most loathed insect, but scientists have recently unveiled
a prototype robot that mimics this critter’s soft body, resilient shell and nimble movements –
features that could one day play a key role in search-and-rescue operations.
DESIGN INSPIRATION – COCKROACH
1 Compressibility
Free standing
height
12
Crouched
9
Compressed
6
4
Minimum
mm
A cockroach squeezing through
a 3mm gap under a door.
It can collapse its exoskeleton –
overlapping chitin plates that
encase its body –
down to 25% of
its normal height.
3 Unique agility
2 Feat of strength
It can withstand, without injury,
a compressive force of
As it cannot properly use its feet in
tight spaces, it utilises the
nearly 900 times
its body weight.
sensory spines
on its tibia to push against
Now you know why they are so hard to kill.
the floor to move forward.
Tibia
ABOUT THE ROBOT
WHAT: Compressible robot with articulated mechanisms (Cram) – a robot
that navigates cracks and crevices which conventional robots cannot do.
PROJECT PHASE:
INVENTOR: Scientists at
University of California, Berkeley
Prototype/development
DESIGN FEATURES
Functionality
The robot is
autonomous in
power and
control.
Bendable spine
Outer shell
This allows legs to splay out passively when
compressed – such as in tight spaces.
Its low-friction flexible plastic
exoskeleton springs back to shape
after a 20kg load on it is lifted
(as demonstrated below).
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS
• Locate survivors trapped in
disaster rubble and identify safe
entry points for rescuers (right).
• Self-steering robots with
circumstantial awareness in tight
spaces for purposes of gathering
intelligence for soldiers.
• If suitably miniaturised, it could
offer surgical aid to doctors by
traversing say, gastrointestinal tracts.
AT A GLANCE
Dimensions
18cm long and
7.5cm tall (free standing).
It can cram itself down to 3.5cm high.
Weight
46g
(including onboard
electronics and battery)
Speed
Unconstrained position
27cm per second
(1.5 body lengths per second)
Robot is compressed by 50 per cent.
Fully-crammed position
(half its standing height)
13.5cm per second
Loading
It can withstand loads of
about 1kg –
or 20 times its body mass.
Estimated cost
US$100 (S$140)
NOTE: It could cost less than US$10 apiece,
fully equipped, if mass-produced.
Source: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
PHOTOS: POLYPEDAL LAB, UC BERKELEY
STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS: LIM YONG