Hop, Jump and Stick; Robots Designed With Insect Instincts
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering Biological Systems and Agricultural Engineering Computer Engineering Computer Science Electrical Engineering Engineering Mechanics Information Technology Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics |
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| Learning Resource Type: |
Reference - Article/Document |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Organization:Science Daily |
| Description: | Science Daily article, June 24, 2010. Excerpt: "A swarm of flying robots soars into a blazing forest fire. With insect-like precision and agility, the machines land on tree trunks and bound over rough terrain before deploying crucial sensors and tools to track the inferno and its effects. This is a scenario that Mirko Kovac, from EPFL's Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, thinks may not be so far off. Swarm robotics is offering innovative solutions to real-world problems by creating a new form of artificial intelligence based on insect-like instincts. Mirko Kovac, from EPFL's Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, is a young robotics engineer who has already made leaps forward in the field with his grasshopper-inspired jumping robot. He and his collaborators have created an innovative perching mechanism where the robot flies head first into the object, a tree for example -- without being destroyed -- and attaches to almost any type of surface using sharp prongs. It then detaches on command. The goal is to create robots that can travel in swarms over rough terrain to come to the aide of catastrophe victims." Image Caption: Mirko Kovac with a model of his head-first perching mechanism for miniature robots. (Credit: Image courtesy of EPFL) |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | biomimetics biologically-inspired desgn robotics |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(c) Design a system, component, or process |
| Use of Resource: |
Interesting example of biomimetics. ""I am fascinated by the creative process," says Kovac, "and how it is possible to use the sophistication found in nature to create something completely new." The perching mechanism can be easily adapted to other robots. His previous robot, a quarter-gram jumping robot that can achieve heights of up to four and a half feet, could now be fitted with the new perching mechanism as well as wings, thus creating a hybrid creature that gets around much like a flying grasshopper." |
| Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Interactivity Level: |
Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | June 2010 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100624091751.htm |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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