iRobot is developing a soft mobile morphing robots, designed to crawl through tiny holes and cracks.
Researchers from iRobot and the University of Chicago discussed their palm-sized soft robot, known as a chemical robot, or chembot, at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems yesterday. It's "the first demonstration of a completely soft, mobile robot using jamming as an enabling technology," they write in a paper presented at the conference.
The concept of "jamming skin enabled locomotion" is explained quite nicely in the video. The polymer used for the bot's stretchy skin is off-the-shelf silicone two-part rubber.
iRobot's Shape-Shifting Blob 'Bot Takes Its First Steps( Thanks, Gever!)
