Cockroach-like Robot Uses Shell to Maneuver Around Obstacles

Posted on June 23, 2015

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have developed a robot inspired by the cockroach. The robot has a white shell that it can use to maneuver around obstacles. The rounded shell was inspired by the discoid cockroach.

The running robot is able to perform a roll maneuver and slip through gaps between grass-like vertical beam obstacles without the need for additional sensors or motors. The researchers say they tried three different types of shells before settling on the design above.

Chen Li, the lead author of the study from the University of California, Berkeley, says in a statement, "The majority of robotics studies have been solving the problem of obstacles by avoiding them, which largely depends on using sensors to map out the environment and algorithms that plan a path to go around obstacles. However, when the terrain becomes densely cluttered, especially as gaps between obstacles become comparable or even smaller than robot size, this approach starts to run into problems as a clear path cannot be mapped."

A video was released that shows the robot using its shell to get around obstacles while other robots get stuck and fail. The video also shows cockroaches crossing the obstacles. Take a look:

A research paper on the robot was published here in the journal, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics./p>

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