Researchers hope to create a “reptilian revolution” with robot technologies.
In design, the idea of “biomimicry” holds that biological processes have much to teach us about creating new materials with improved performance properties. For example, the swim suits worn by Olympian Michael Phelps in 2008 were woven with overlapping scales to mimic sharkskin, creating greater surface efficiency when swimming. The technique has since been used on cargo ships and even in medical equipment that resists bacteria.
Now a similar idea is set to revolutionize manufacturing, with the use of new robotic technologies modeled on biology.
A team at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University is working on the devices, which are called “snakebots,” according to CNBC. While similar robots are currently used in some surgical procedures and in search-and-rescue operations, the team is looking into new applications in engineering and manufacturing.
The snakebots mimic animals that can creep and crawl through small pathways, with the ability to clutch and grab objects with highly maneuverable appendages. Using robotics, the Carnegie Mellon researchers hope to usher in a “reptilian revolution” in manufacturing.
Similar but larger robotic designs were first developed in Japanese laboratories in the 1970’s. But the Carnegie Mellon team hopes to make stronger, smaller and more versatile machines that can access areas that people have a hard time reaching.
Ultimately snakebots may have the potential to eliminate the need for huge factories with their attendant infrastructure altogether, since the robots can be reprogrammed to undertake different tasks for whatever applications are needed.
So, in addition to greater mobility in small spaces, the machines can be tailored to the individual units of production that are needed. Thus, smaller companies that might not be able to afford the capital investment required for building a large factory could still undertake mass production at a cheaper cost.
Larger companies would also benefit, as the programmable robotic operations would make them more able to change their production line as needed, without having to rebuild an entire factory.
