Water Striding Robots
June 12th, 2007Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are pushing the lower limits of robotics design by pursuing the task of building robots that can literally walk on water. These water striding robots weigh just 10 grams, and use Teflon-coated legs to repel water. DC Servo Micro-motors (commonly found in smaller electronic devices like pagers) power these robots.
Difficult as it may seem, achieving balance on the water surface may not be the most daunting task at all - more likely, the challenge is going to lie in maintaining that balance over surface tension while initiating and coordinating the move. In fact, these robots can even walk backwards, going one step beyond the water strider insect that they emulate.
Watch a video of these robot designs on EngineeringTV.
