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Chemical Robot Walks Like an Inchworm
Published January 14, 2015
It looks like a slice of mango. It "walks" like an inchworm. But it's not alive.
Japanese researchers used a pulsing chemical reaction to power a gelatinous robot, New Scientist magazine reports.
The scientists at the Shuji Hashimoto Laboratory at Waseda University in Tokyo are specialists in chemical robotics, which aims to build self-directed machines without metallic parts or electronics.
In this case, the chemicals were built into a flexible gel, curved to maximize tension and magnify the pulsing reaction.
When placed on a notched surface, the curved yellow object stretches, then shrinks to move forward, exactly like an inchworm.
The "walking" continues until the chemical reactions cease.
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