The Azerbaijan State News Agency

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Harvard researchers build flexible robot

29.11.2011 [13:10]
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Baku, November 29 (AZERTAC). Harvard scientists have built a new type of flexible robot that is limber enough to wiggle and worm through tight spaces.

It`s the latest prototype in the growing field of soft-bodied robots. Researchers are increasingly drawing inspiration from nature to create machines that are more bendable and versatile than those made of metal.

The Harvard team, led by chemist George M. Whitesides, borrowed from squids, starfish and other animals without hard skeletons to fashion a small, four-legged rubber robot that calls to mind the clay animation character Gumby.

In recent years, scientists have been tinkering with squishy — sometimes odd-looking — robots designed to squeeze through hard-to-reach cracks after a disaster like an earthquake or navigate rough terrain in the battlefield.