UK engineers develop robot worms that can 'sense' the world around them, read details

A team of engineers from the University of Glasgow have developed robots that can feel their own surroundings. The robots developed by engineers are inspired by the movements of inchworms and earthworms. The roboworms can stretch up to nine times their original length and are capable of a form of proprioception.

The roboworms proprioception allows them to squeeze into narrow spaces where rigid robots cannot reach. Proprioception is a way by which biological organisms like worms feel their position in space. Furthermore, the 4.5 centimetre long robots can stretch up to nine times their original length.  

Robot worms can feel their surroundings

According to Glasgow University, the researchers have expressed optimism that the development of roboworms could lead to a new generation of robots capable of autonomously exploring places that are difficult to reach. Professor Ravinder Dahiya, the University of Glasgow, in the press release said, "Proprioception is a vital characteristic of many forms of biological life, and scientists have long been inspired to try and develop engineered systems which mimic this ability". 

The skin of the robot worms was made from Ecoflex, a stretchable plastic, and a graphite paste devised by the scientists. The team of engineers attached tiny permanent magnets at either end of the robot's tubular bodies. The magnet attached to them helps them to move along a metal surface. The sensors in their skin assist them in ‘sensing’ their movements in relation to their bodies by measuring the electrical resistance of the graphite paste, which changes as the bodies of the robots expand. When the resistance reaches a preset maximum value, the body contracts again, moving it forward. Ravinder Dahiya in the press release mentioned that the "bioinspired robots are a step towards creating soft, flexible robot systems" which are capable of the infinite directions of movement that nature has created in inchworms and earthworms.

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