Harvard Develops Tiny Robots That Can Walk Upside Down In Small Spaces

Scientists at Harvard have invented a robot with four electro-adhesive feet, capable of traveling in small spaces, on the walls and ceiling if the surface is electrically conductive.

HAMR-E: Inverted and Vertical Climbing Microrobot

This robot is called The Harvard Ambulatory Micro-Robot with Electroadhesion, or HAMR-E, built and developed to respond to Rolls-Royce's challenge.

Some spaces are so small that people cannot reach, so the appearance of HAMR-E is extremely handy. It can help engineers move essential items in small areas without removing everything out. Hopefully, HAMR-E can carry cameras or tools to engineers to test and fix machines that are as complex as Rolls-Royce jet engines.

According to Sebastien de Rivas, a former researcher at Harvard who now works at Apple, future robots are not only about stepping back and forth on a flat surface, but they also move in three dimensions and do many other jobs. They can help engineers reach untouchable locations that cannot be penetrated. At the same time, they help technology companies save a lot of time and money.

To be able to adhere to all conductive planes, HAMR-E's foot pads include a copper electrode insulated with polyimide. From there it creates an electrostatic force between the conductive plane and the foot. The pads can be sucked in or released through turning on and off the electric field (acting as an electromagnet), allowing the robot to walk and move around.

Its three feet will stick to the surface, and the fourth foot will step forward and then stick to the surface and so on to move. It can go forward or backward and inverted, allowing it to freely get to the destination.

The manufacturer took the idea of origami's ankle joints to create its distinctive gait with rotating legs. HAMR-E can also follow all the inner curves of jet engines. The robot is able to step more than 100 steps in a row without separation when tested both on the vertical and inverted surface.

Co-author Robert Wood PhD of a report on this project said that HAMR-E marks the first and most convincing proof fo the possibility of climbing robots with the scale of centimeters. It also proves that future robots can help us explore any kind of infrastructure including pipes, buildings, generators, engines, etc.

He added that the collaborations between academic scientists and industrial ones require the answer to questions in not only fundamental matters but also practical implementation.