A lot of things can be classified as chilling. For many, the cockroach and its ability to dodge certain death—the stomp of a human foot, perhaps—fits well into that lexicon. Now, researchers have made the cockroach’s creepy attributes cool by making it the basis for a new robot.
A study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley biologists profiled the American cockroach and its ability to hastily push its tough, yet pliable exoskeleton through crevices that would look impossible for it to pass at first glance.
“What’s impressive about these cockroaches is that they can run as fast through a quarter-inch gap as a half-inch gap, by reorienting their legs completely out to the side,” said study leader Dr. Kaushik Jayaram in an UC Berkeley publication profiling the research. “They’re about half an inch tall when they run freely, but can squish their bodies to one-tenth of an inch — the height of two stacked pennies.”
In addition to demonstrating the insect’s impressive flexibility, the university also found the American cockroach can be impacted by an object 90 times its bodyweight without injury. Using these capabilities as a foundation, Jayaram created an origami-like robot that could be used to dig through debris during search-and-rescue situations, like those that arise following a natural disaster.
The compressible robot with articulated mechanisms, or CRAM, is a palm-sized machine that adapts to compression by spreading its legs outward. The shell of the inexpensive robot is similar to durable like the wings of a cockroach, despite being made of plastic. Though it can’t compress as much as an actual cockroach—the study found they can the American insect can squeeze down to a quarter of its height—CRAM can still move through tight spots at half of its height.
“In the event of an earthquake, first responders need to know if an area of rubble is stable and safe, but the challenge is, most robots can’t get into rubble,” said Robert Full, a professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley. “But if there are lots of cracks and vents and conduits, you can imagine just throwing a swarm of these robots in to locate survivors and safe entry points for first responders.”
Though he stressed that it’s presently nothing more than a prototype, Full said CRAM demonstrates the value of using soft robots.
“Insects are the most successful animals on earth. Because they intrude nearly everywhere, we should look to them for inspiration as to how to make a robot that can do the same.”
The findings of Jayaram and the rest of the UC Berkeley team have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
