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Topic Name: Spider-like Bot Walks on Water
Category: Robotics
Research persons: Dr Metin Sitti
Location: 5000 Forbes Ave , 315 Scaife Hall , Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890, United States
Details
Robots come in all shapes and sizes — but one that looks like a spider and
walks on water? That's exactly what Carnegie Mellon researchers have developed
in the university's
NanoRobotics Laboratory. (Watch a video of the water-strider robot.)
"Water-strider robot research is an example of fun-driven research rather
than a fund driven one," said Metin Sitti, associate professor in Carnegie
Mellon's
department of mechanical engineering, the
Robotics Institute,
the department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering and principal investigator for the
project. "We have had a lot of fun of understanding the biological principles of
water-strider insect locomotion on water and adapting those principles to
robotic systems."
The goal is to develop a microrobot that can stay and maneuver on water with
power, efficiency and agility by taking advantage of the water's surface
tension. The team of Carnegie Mellon researchers — which includes Yun Seong
Song, Akshay Jayaram, Ian Price and Jeremy Wolgemuth — expects to continuously
improve the robot's ability to float on water by studying the physics of water
striders in nature and using micro-actuators to simulate their movements.
Sitti says the university is in contact with several large-scale toy
companies to commercialize the robot for entertainment and educational purposes
in the near future.
"We are also expecting other new applications related to quality and
biochemical monitoring of water resources," he said.
In addition to the water-strider robot, Carnegie Mellon's NanoRobotics
Laboratory researchers are also investigating robots that can swim and fly.
Sitti envisions a day when microrobots navigate through human fluids, looking
for signs of disease.
About Researchers & Contacts:
Dr Metin Sitti
Assistant Professor, RI/Mech E
Associated center: CFR
Email address: msitti@andrew.cmu.edu
Office: SH 315
Phone: (412) 268-3632
Fax: 412-268-3348
Mailing address:
5000 Forbes Ave
315 Scaife Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Departmental Home Pages:
MechE:
http://www.me.cmu.edu/people/faculty/sitti.htm
RI:
http://www.ri.cmu.edu/people/sitti_metin.html
UCB (old):
http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/~sitti/
Work Address:
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 315 Scaife Hall,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Tel: 412-268-3632
Fax: 412-268-3348
E-Mail: msitti@andrew.cmu.edu
Home Address:
5533 Ellsworth Ave., #302, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Phone: 412-802-7954
Short Note About Robot:
A robot is a mechanical or virtual, artificial agent. It is usually an
electromechanical system, which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense
that it has intent or agency of its own. The word robot can refer to both
physical and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually referred to as
bots to differentiate.
For more information:
http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/multimedia/cm-strider-8-17-07.shtml
http://nanolab.me.cmu.edu/
http://www.ece.cmu.edu/
http://www.ri.cmu.edu/
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~globalconn
http://www.robot250.org
http://www.me.cmu.edu/
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