Scientists and researchers from the University of California-Berkeley have recently developed a crawling robot that mimics a cockroach’s ability to maneuver in confined spaces.
The robot has been dubbed the CRAM or, compressible robot with articulated mechanisms, and can fit in the palm of your hand. The CRAM robot was developed by the university researchers with direct support from the US Army Research Laboratory.
The CRAM robot is an origami style soft legged robot that can move around rapidly in both open and confined spaces. Although CRAM is just a prototype researchers are confident in the great possibilities for this and other insect inspired technology. Researchers hope that CRAM and other similar insect like robots would aide in search and rescue missions as the robot would be able to infiltrate past enemy lines with little to no detection.
Dr. Brett Piekarski, manager of the cooperative-agreement alliance, had the following to state regarding CRAM; “The research at UC Berkeley is exploring bio-inspired mobility and control methods that can be applied to future Army autonomous robotic systems”.
Piekarski then went on to state that; “Over the course of the program, they have performed research in many areas from how insects can maneuver and transition over and through varying surfaces, to how lizards use their tails to maintain stability over rugged terrain or to maneuver rapidly, to bio-inspired self-righting technologies that have led to a joint project with ARL, and to the focus of the recent paper on how cockroaches maneuver through very small cracks.”
The CRAM robot is a very promising robot development with inspiration coming from the unlikely source of cockroaches!
If you have any real life cockroaches invading your home or business make sure to call in for support from a professional. If located in California contact the pest control experts at Innovative Pest Solutions!