Saturday, November 18, 2006

Slimy Robot


from VestalDesign.com...A lab at MIT under Annette Hosoi has developed a small climbing robot modeled after a snail. Using a sticky gel, it can climb on vertical surfaces or even upside down.

The team tested out their snail on a tilting platform, covered with a 1.5-millimetre-thick layer of slime made from Laponite, a type of clay that forms a clear, sticky gel when mixed with water.

The robot is being used to test mathematical models of snail locomotion.

Link at News@Nature

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