A new soft bot mimics octopuses and inchworms to climb walls
This skill could come in handy for surveillance or building inspections
By
Maria Temming
12:35pm, April 9, 2018
PHOENIX — Soft robots really get around. Some jump, others swim or crawl on the ground (SN Online: 12/13/16). Now, one can even scale walls.
Inspired by an octopus’s suckers, researchers have constructed an inchwormlike robot that uses a pair of suction cups to scoot around vertical surfaces. The bot can clamber across rough and smooth terrain, aboveground and underwater, carrying up to five times its own weight.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-soft-robot-mimics-octopus-inchworm-climb-walls?mode=topic&context=60
