The Tiny Cockroach Robot Can Be Helpful In Rescue Operations

Cockroach-Inspired Robot

When it comes to the scariest creature in the world, many may think of cockroaches first. In spite of their tiny bodies, they can survive under extreme conditions like in any nuclear blast or being trampled down by humans.

Even it can enhance its own immune system after contacting with insecticides for a time. That’s why roboticists have made a great effort to stimulate them.

New Kind Of Robot

A research group at the University of California, Berkeley have created a new kind of robot which has the same size as a human finger. Its weight is just about 0.1 grams. However, one of the most notable things of the initiative is its capability to bear a weight of about 60kg when a person steps on it.

In a press release, Liwei Lin, one of the researchers of this project, said that

He added

How To Create

A few days ago, in a paper, the researchers explained how they used a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) thin sheet, which was covered by an elastic polymer, to create this robot. Next, they leveraged an attached wire to form an oscillating electric voltage inside the robot. Its body, therefore, will be bent and straightened again. In other words, the initiative will ‘jump’ like a real frog.

With the tiny size, it can move as fast as cockroaches. More particularly, in a second, it can travel around 20 times its body’s length.

According to the researchers, this product can be a good option for search, as well as rescue operations. The scientist Yichuan Wu said,