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Posts Tagged “

carnegie mellon university

robots

Robot Snakes Scare the Indy Out of Me


Unlike Indiana Jones, I generally don't hate snakes. But seeing these modular mechanical snakes wriggling up some dude's leg gave me shivers. The video gets scarier still when they start climbing walls and shimmying up the inside of pipes. According to the Carnegie Mellon-based developers, the elaborate "gaits" that let these robot snakes maneuver on land and sea are achieved using low-cost hobby-grade servos. So before you kick sand in the face of some pasty Carnegie Mellon nerd at the Jersey Shore this summer, remember he may have a backpack full of cheap, wriggly killing machines. [CM on YouTube via Make]

research

Researchers Begin Work on Building Real Life (Microscopic) Transformers

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have begun work on creating tiny groups of robots that utilize electromagnetic forces to alter their shape and function. Ultimately, the team hopes to build a large number of microscopic robots that are able to metamorphose into any conceivable shape. This would be done by applying a charge to the nanobots, which would form different structures based on how, or where, that charge is applied. The concept is not too dissimilar to the material that was shown to be used for Batman's cape in Batman Begins. That similarity makes this research instantly awesome. More »