We’ve seen Toyota’s insect robot, but how about using living pill bugs and chitons as grippers for robots to help them manipulate objects? Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan experimented with the latter and discovered that these tiny bugs are capable of sticking firmly to rocks.
So, the team 3D-printed housings for these bugs and attached them to a robot arm. The pill bugs were used to grasp a piece of cotton wool for a couple of minutes, while chitons picked up cork, wood, as well as plastic cylinders. One area the chitons may need work on is their release mechanism, as they are able to pick up objects without issue. Both the pill bugs and chitons were released back into the wild after this experiment.
- Build your own awesome, wearable mechanical hand that you operate with your own fingers.
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- Hydraulic pistons enable the mechanical fingers to open and close and grip objects with enough force to lift them. Every finger joint can be adjusted...
Crucially, this method does not harm these creatures, enabling their release back into nature after use. How this concept may be expanded to other organisms and applications is also discussed,” said the researchers.
