Say hello to the PoseiDrone: the new robot inspired by octopi that might just save your life. The robot is designed for life under the sea, complete with a soft-bodied center and waving tentacles that can squeeze into all the small crevasses and spaces in the ocean that need exploring.
Named for the Greek God of the sea, Poseidon, the new tentacle ‘bot is one of the most flexible machines we’ve invented. As around 90% of its body is composed of soft materials, the PoseiDrone has the flexibility and know-how required to squeeze into and explore small under-the-sea spaces and repair damaged underwater equipment. It can even rescue somebody who’s drowning, by wrapping itself around your body and pulling.
Still in its research phase, the PoseiDrone is developed by Francesco Giorgio-Serchi and team, researchers at Italy’s BioRobotics Institute. Their creation is designed to mimic the natural abilities of octopi, who are famous for their talent to get in and out of incredibly small spaces. Like an octopus, the drone also moves itself along through water propulsion: the drone will expel water from its “body” in order to move.
Octopi are also noted for their intriguing nervous system, which allows each individual tentacle to act like a “brain,” independently controlling its movement. Eventually, Giorgio-Serchi and his team want to create a drone which also possesses those qualities, as well as the physical characteristics of the octopus.
The team’s robotic work is advanced with the help of 3D-printing techniques, which allows them to move through new designs, experiments and modifications more quickly and effectively. 3D-printing is definitely an area that would be useful to the study of soft-bodied robots, an area that is becoming more and more interesting to scientists and engineers.
For more about the PoseiDrone, you can visit the BioRobotics Institute page.
Source Discovery
Advertisement
