Plastic shell lets roach-bot squeeze through gaps
Shape helps six-legged robot shimmy past obstacles
By Meghan Rosen
Cluttered terrain won’t block this cockroach-bot. A sleek, rounded shell lets the six-legged robot scurry through tight spaces, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley report online June 22 in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.
The robo-roach is short and squat, kind of like a clunky smartphone with legs. A bulky body is fine for trekking over flat surfaces, but not so much for moving in three dimensions. Bots tend to bump into obstacles and get stuck — but wearing a roach-style shell can help.