Understanding the biology behind an embryo&rsquo;s development is crucial not only from a basic science perspective, but also from a medical one. However, we are in dire need for tools that can help us systematically and explore embryonic development.&ldquo;The original experimental approach in embryology is microsurgery,&rdquo; says Andy Oates at EPFL&rsquo;s School of Life Sciences. &ldquo;But it used to be done with a very simple microscope and very simple tools like cactus spines or sharpened pieces of wire. Another problem is that we naturally have a tremor in our hands, which makes microsurgery difficult for some people. It takes years of training, and only some people can do it, so the throughput is very low.&rdquo;<h2>Combining robotics and biology</h2>In an effort to address the current limitations of microsurgery techniques, Oates joined forces with Professor Selman Sakar at the School of Engineering, an expert in microtechnology and small-scale robotics. &ldquo;<a href="https://www.epfl.ch/labs/microbs/" target="_blank">In my laboratory</a>, we have been building robotic tools for tissue micro-manipulation,&rdquo; says Sakar. &ldquo;Together with Andy [Oates], we asked whether we could use some of these tools to facilitate research in embryology in general, to make it more reliable and give it a higher throughput, and in this case to specifically understand the biomechanics of how tissue morphogenesis [the shaping and structuring of a developing tissue] in zebrafish works.&rdquo;The two professors received funding for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epfl.ch/schools/sv/iphd-program/" target="_blank">an iPhD</a>, a specialized doctoral fellowship at EPFL that combines life science research with another discipline. The iPhD candidate, Ece &Ouml;zel&ccedil;i, trained on both robotics and developmental biology.&ldquo;I think it&#39;s a great program, because, honestly, I would otherwise never have done such interdisciplinary research,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;It was quite intense; it&#39;s not like you only focus on a single discipline. I learned quite a lot from both fields, and I think it&#39;s a really great opportunity if you want to acquire a unique skill set.&rdquo;<blockquote>...our research enables us to reverse engineer the developmental programs for tissue engineering<footer>Selman Sakar</footer></blockquote><h2>A new robot-assisted platform</h2>Publishing in&nbsp;Nature Communications, the researchers describe the new platform&rsquo;s role as &ldquo;robot-assisted tissue micromanipulation&rdquo;. It is compact (200 x 100 x 70 mm3), high-resolution (4 nm position and 25 &mu;&deg; rotation), and dexterous, with several degrees of freedom. The tool can position itself automatically without any manual intervention and do so with high, reproducible stability.The researchers drew inspiration from related microsurgery systems from ophthalmology and neurology, which are also quite compact and precise, and also rely on microscopes, even though their target objects are often larger than an embryo.The scientists tested the platform&rsquo;s capabilities by using it to study body axis elongation of the zebrafish embryo. &ldquo;<a href="https://www.epfl.ch/labs/oateslab/" target="_blank">Our lab</a> focuses on how the backbone forms, and part of that is how the body elongates, grows out, and segments itself,&rdquo; says Oates. &ldquo;We use the zebrafish embryo as a model, and the idea is to look at the contribution of different parts of the embryo to the process of development. In this case, we look at how embryos elongate themselves and how they segment themselves, and how those two processes interact. Our approach is to physically separate elongation and segmentation by microsurgery, and see how each operates when the other process isn&rsquo;t there.&rdquo;<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tfQT2B6iJ58?&wmode=opaque&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe>Using the platform, &Ouml;zel&ccedil;i and her colleagues were able to target precise regions of the zebrafish embryo. The robot-assisted microsurgery allowed them to remove the embryo&rsquo;s elongating tail and grow it separately &ndash; a process called explanting, which is often used in embryological research.<blockquote>Our approach is to physically separate elongation and segmentation by microsurgery, and see how each operates when the other process isn&rsquo;t there.<footer>Andy Oates</footer></blockquote>The study revealed a surprising behavior of the embryo&rsquo;s notochord, which acts as an early &ldquo;backbone&rdquo; for the larva when it begins to swim. &ldquo;The notochord pushes so hard inside the tail that it can buckle itself,&rdquo; says Oates. &ldquo;Normally the embryo would elongate uniaxially, but once we physically stopped the process, the notochord kept elongating, generating compressive stresses that led to buckling.&rdquo;<h2>Biology for advancing engineering &ndash; and vice-versa</h2>&ldquo;In addition to embryology, our research enables us to reverse engineer the developmental programs for tissue engineering,&rdquo; says Sakar. &ldquo;If we understand how forces lead to tissue morphogenesis, we could replicate these conditions with engineered tissues&nbsp;in vitro. Like biochemical factors, providing the right mechanical environment and signals is critical for the tissues to develop and function properly.&ldquo;We are also motivated to create biological machines that are designed to perform specific engineering tasks. For example, we would like to engineer mini-hearts that serve as organic pumps with much simpler architecture compared to the real heart. To this end, robot-assisted microsurgery provides not only the construction principles, but also provides the means to manufacture machines from the living matter through&nbsp;<a href="https://actu.epfl.ch/news/tissue-engineering-using-mechanobiology-and-roboti/" target="_blank">mechanically-guided self-assembly</a>.&rdquo;But will such platforms gain broader use? &ldquo;I envision that such robotic micromanipulation tools will become instrumental in every life science laboratory,&rdquo; says Sakar. &ldquo;Regardless of the chosen biological model system, ranging from single cells to organisms, robotics and automation can empower the scientists.&rdquo;&ldquo;Medical robots are quite advanced,&rdquo; he adds. &ldquo;It is time to bring the unique capabilities of surgical robotics to the biomedical research community. Handling biological samples in an automated fashion will increase the throughput, precision, and repeatability of data acquisition while democratizing procedures that require fine skills and years of experience. Combined with intelligent imaging and microscopy, the possibilities are endless.&rdquo;<hr>ReferencesEce &Ouml;zel&ccedil;i, Erik Mailand, Matthias Rüegg, Andrew C. Oates, Mahmut Selman Sakar. Deconstructing body axis morphogenesis in zebrafish embryos using robot-assisted tissue micromanipulation. Nature Communications 24 December 2022. DOI:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35632-4" rel="noopener" target="_blank">10.1038/s41467-022-35632-4</a>

Combining biology and robotics, scientists at EPFL have built a robotic microsurgery platform that can perform high-precision, micrometer-resolution dissections to advance our understanding of how the vertebrate body forms during embryonic development.

A robotic microsurgeon reveals how embryos grow

A collaborative effort has installed electronic &ldquo;brains&rdquo; on solar-powered robots that are 100 to 250 micrometers in size &ndash; smaller than an ant&rsquo;s head &ndash; so that they can walk autonomously without&nbsp;being externally controlled.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bCjnekohBAY?&wmode=opaque&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" style="width: 768px; height: 435px;"></iframe>Cornell researchers installed electronic &ldquo;brains&rdquo; on solar-powered robots that are 100 to 250 micrometers in size, so the tiny bots can walk autonomously without being externally controlled. No&euml;l Heaney/Cornell University&nbsp;While Cornell researchers and others have previously developed microscopic machines that can crawl, swim, <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/08/laser-jolts-microscopic-electronic-robots-motion" target="_blank">walk</a> and fold themselves up, there were always &ldquo;strings&rdquo; attached; to generate motion, wires were used to provide electrical current or laser beams had to be focused directly onto specific locations on the robots.&nbsp;&ldquo;Before, we literally had to manipulate these &lsquo;strings&rsquo; in order to get any kind of response from the robot,&rdquo; said <a href="http://physics.cornell.edu/itai-cohen" target="_blank">Itai Cohen</a>, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences. &ldquo;But now that we have these brains on board, it&rsquo;s like taking the strings off the marionette. It&rsquo;s like when&nbsp;Pinocchio&nbsp;gains consciousness.&rdquo;The innovation sets the stage for a new generation of microscopic devices that can track bacteria, sniff out chemicals, destroy pollutants, conduct microsurgery and scrub the plaque out of arteries.The team&rsquo;s paper, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abq2296" target="_blank">Microscopic Robots with Onboard Digital Control</a>,&rdquo; published Sept. 21 in Science Robotics. The lead author is postdoctoral researcher Michael Reynolds, M.S. &lsquo;17, Ph.D. &lsquo;21.The project brought together researchers from the labs of Cohen, <a href="https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/faculty-directory/alyosha-christopher-molnar" target="_blank">Alyosha Molnar</a>, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in Cornell Engineering; and <a href="https://physics.cornell.edu/paul-mceuen" target="_blank">Paul McEuen</a>, the John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science (A&amp;S), all co-senior authors on the paper.The &ldquo;brain&rdquo; in the new robots is a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) clock circuit that contains a thousand transistors, plus an array of diodes, resistors and capacitors. The integrated CMOS circuit generates a signal that produces a series of phase-shifted square wave frequencies that in turn set the gait of the robot. The robot legs are platinum-based actuators. Both the circuit and the legs are powered by photovoltaics.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1663949751084-cmos-sheet-a_0.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Alejandro Cortese, Ph.D. &rsquo;19 displays a silicon-on-insulator wafer that contains finished CMOS &ldquo;brains.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;In some sense, the electronics are very basic. This clock circuit is not a leap forward in the ability of circuits,&rdquo; Cohen said. &ldquo;But all of the electronics have to be designed to be very low power, so that we didn&rsquo;t have to put humungous photovoltaics to power the circuit.&rdquo;The low-power electronics were made possible by the&nbsp;<a href="https://molnargroup.ece.cornell.edu/" target="_blank">Molnar Group</a>&rsquo;s research. Former postdoctoral researcher Alejandro Cortese, Ph.D. &lsquo;19, worked with Reynolds and designed the CMOS brain, which was then built by a commercial foundry, XFAB.The finished circuits arrived on 8-inch silicon-on-insulator wafers. At 15 microns tall, each robot brain &ndash; essentially also the robot&rsquo;s body &ndash; was a &ldquo;mountain&rdquo; compared to the electronics that normally fit on a flat wafer, Reynolds said. He worked with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnf.cornell.edu/" target="_blank">Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility</a> (CNF) to develop an intricate process using 13 layers of photolithography to etch the brains loose into an aqueous solution and pattern the actuators to make the legs.&ldquo;One of the key parts that enables this is that we&rsquo;re using microscale actuators that can be controlled by low voltages and currents,&rdquo; said Cortese, who is CEO of OWiC Technologies, a company he founded with McEuen and Molnar to commercialize optical wireless integrated circuits for microsensors. &ldquo;This is really the first time that we showed that yes, you can integrate that directly into a CMOS process and have all of those legs be directly controlled by effectively one circuit.&rdquo;The team created three robots to demonstrate the CMOS integration: a two-legged Purcell bot, named in tribute to physicist Edward Purcell, who proposed a similarly simple model to explain the swimming motions of microorganisms; a more complicated six-legged antbot, which walks with an alternating tripod gait, like that of an insect; and a four-legged dogbot that can vary the speed with which it walks thanks to a modified circuit that receives commands via laser pulse.&ldquo;Eventually, the ability to communicate a command will allow us to give the robot instructions, and the internal brain will figure out how to carry them out,&rdquo; Cohen said. &ldquo;Then we&rsquo;re having a conversation with the robot. The robot might tell us something about its environment, and then we might react by telling it, &lsquo;OK, go over there and try to suss out what&rsquo;s happening.&rsquo;&rdquo;The new robots are approximately 10,000 times smaller than macroscale robots that feature onboard CMOS electronics, and they can walk at speeds faster than 10 micrometers per second.The fabrication process that Reynolds designed, basically customizing foundry-built electronics, has resulted in a platform that can enable other researchers to outfit microscopic robots with their own apps &ndash; from chemical detectors to photovoltaic &ldquo;eyes&rdquo; that help robots navigate by sensing changes in light.&ldquo;What this lets you imagine is really complex, highly functional microscopic robots that have a high degree of programmability, integrated with not only actuators, but also sensors,&rdquo; Reynolds said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited about the applications in medicine &ndash; something that could move around in tissue and identify good cells and kill bad cells &ndash; and in environmental remediation, like if you had a robot that knew how to break down pollutants or sense a dangerous chemical and get rid of it.&rdquo;In May, the team integrated their CMOS clock circuits into&nbsp;<a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/05/artificial-cilia-could-someday-power-diagnostic-devices" target="_blank">artificial cilia</a> that were also built with platinum-based, electrically-powered actuators, to manipulate the movement of fluids.&ldquo;The real fun part is, just like we never really knew what the iPhone was going to be about until we sent it out into the world, what we&rsquo;re hoping is that now that we&rsquo;ve shown the recipe for linking CMOS electronics to robotic actuating limbs, we can unleash this and have people design low-power microchips that can do all sorts of things,&rdquo; Cohen said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the idea of sending it out into the ether and letting people&rsquo;s imaginations run wild.&rdquo;Co-authors include former postdoctoral researcher Marc Miskin; postdoctoral researchers Qingkun Liu and Sunwoo Lee; doctoral students Wei Wang, Samantha Norris; and Zhangqi (Jackie) Zheng &lsquo;24.

A collaborative effort has installed electronic “brains” on solar-powered robots that are 100 to 250 micrometers in size – smaller than an ant’s head – so that they can walk autonomously without being externally controlled.

Brains on board: Smart microrobots walk autonomously

Another fascinating month for robotics. Researchers are the highlight of the month. Through their work, we are pushing the boundaries of self-awareness, complex structure and even the limits of life and death.&nbsp;Spoooky indeed.&nbsp;Take a seat and join us in this quick review of robotics news.And don&#39;t forget that you can also share your story. We would love to feature it in our next blog. Just email us at <a href="mailto:robotics.community@canonical.com" target="_blank">robotics.community@canonical.com</a><ul><li>This blog has also been <a href="http://ubuntu.com/blog/the-state-of-robotics-august-2022?utm_source=wevolver&utm_medium=blog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted in Ubuntu blogs</a>.&nbsp;</li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Security for robotics</h2><h3 dir="ltr">Vulnerability in cute, smart Enabot Ebo Air robot found and fixed</h3>The <a href="https://na.enabot.com/ebo/AIR" target="_blank">Enabot Ebo Air</a> is a friendly smart home robot, designed to keep the family company. It allows you to interact with your family at home while you&rsquo;re away. It can take photos and videos as well as recognise faces, and you can steer it around the house via Wi-Fi. Recently, the security assessment firm Modux was asked to evaluate the security of the robot, and <a href="https://www.modux.co.uk/post/serious-security-issues-uncovered-with-the-enabot-smart-robot" target="_blank">found two important vulnerabilities</a>. Modux disclosed the issues to the manufacturer, who has since addressed the risks and released a fix.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU1ODQzODQ3LXRlc3QgMS53ZWJwIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The first issue found was the use of a shared password for the system administrator (root) account. The Enabot Ebo Air robot came pre-configured with a default system administrator password, which was weak and shared across all devices. An attacker could have used this to connect via SSH (secure shell), and gain full administrative permissions. The recommendation was to disable SSH functionality, which the manufacturer did.&nbsp;The second bug was a missing secure-delete functionality, which could potentially disclose information from the previous owner if the robot was resold. The robot did not effectively perform a secure deletion of data when a factory reset was initiated, leaving behind artefacts from previous uses of the device, including cleartext Wi-Fi passwords and session tokens from the previous owner. For this, the recommendation was to use a secure deletion functionality instead, overwriting all sensitive data multiple times.An attacker could have used these vulnerabilities to move the robot, access the camera, record video, speak through the microphone, among other tasks, effectively using it as a surveillance device. This event highlights the importance of security awareness and thorough testing, as robots continue to serve and accompany us more and more in our daily lives. <h2 dir="ltr">Amazon acquisition of iRobot - implications beyond data</h2>Every time Amazon launches or acquires a new company (especially one developing a device) the whole internet starts talking about the data and privacy implications. Yes, certainly data is important for Amazon. But that is not the whole story. Today I want to talk about the impact this acquisition has on investors and how this could boost the market.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU1ODg4NDM2LXRlc3QyLndlYnAiLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Funding a robotics venture is not easy. Between March 2020 and March 2021, robotics companies raised only 8% in capital compared to AI companies. AI-focused startups raised a total of $73.4 billion while robotics startups raised $6.3 billion. This is a paltry sum in comparison, especially when we saw an increasing need for robotics in several industries (due to COVID). &nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU1OTA4ODQxLXRlc3QzLndlYnAiLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">There are many reasons behind this. One of those, and the most important one, is the increased risk perception from investors. Robotics development is expensive and takes time.&nbsp;But moves like Amazon&rsquo;s show something to investors: a profitable exit. Amazon will acquire iRobot for $61 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.7 billion. A success story is always needed to push investment, and this certainly makes one.&nbsp;This is not an isolated event. It comes after 2 years of really interesting acquisitions. Take <a href="https://www.zebra.com/gb/en/about-zebra/newsroom/press-releases/2021/zebra-technologies-to-acquire-fetch-robotics.html" target="_blank">Zebra&#39;s acquisition of Fetch</a>, or <a href="https://www.deere.com/en/news/all-news/2021aug5-bear-flag-robotics/" target="_blank">John Deere&#39;s acquisitions of ROS-based startups</a>. Investors are aware, now more than ever, that while the risk is high, the profit/ROI could be as well. Moves like <a href="https://ubuntu.com/blog/the-state-of-robotics-september-2021" target="_blank">Amazon launching Astro</a> create more incentives.&nbsp;Amazon&rsquo;s acquisition has various implications. Only time will tell whether this boosts the market, and how much.&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">Robotics awareness&nbsp;</h2>Robots are now able to learn a model of their entire body from scratch, without any human assistance. <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abn1944" target="_blank">Researchers from Columbia University</a> developed a visual self-model using deep neural networks that allowed a robot to learn the relationship between its motor actions and the volume it occupied in its environment.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU1OTM2ODEyLXRlc3QgNC53ZWJwIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The team found a way to visualise how the robot saw itself, finding a surprisingly accurate self-image. (<a href="https://www.hackster.io/news/columbia-university-researchers-gave-this-robot-arm-a-true-sense-of-self-cadeac6481a9" target="_blank">source</a>) The researchers placed a robotic arm inside a circle of five streaming video cameras. The video footage was fed to the network as the robot wiggled and contorted. This allowed it to learn exactly how its body moved in response to various motor commands.&nbsp;After about three hours, the robot learned the relationship between its motor actions and the volume it occupied in its environment. Much like an infant exploring itself for the first time in a hall of mirrors.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU1OTU2Njk5LXRlc3Q1LndlYnAiLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Robot inside a circle of five streaming video cameras This awareness allows the robot to plan motion, reach goals, and avoid obstacles in a variety of situations&mdash;another small but incredible step towards robots&rsquo; self-awareness. <h2 dir="ltr">Robotics and Smart textiles</h2><a href="https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/new-shape-shifting-material-can-move-robot" target="_blank">Researchers at the University of New South Wales</a> are also working on a special project. They developed a new class of smart textiles that can shape-shift and turn two-dimensional material into 3D structures. The material is constructed from tiny soft artificial muscles. These muscles are long silicone tubes that can change shape thanks to hydraulics.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU1OTc3MTkxLXRlc3Q2LndlYnAiLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The UNSW team&#39;s smart textile enables fabric reconfiguration which produces shape-morphing structures such as this butterfly and flower that can move using hydraulics. (<a href="https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/new-shape-shifting-material-can-move-robot" target="_blank">source</a>) The artificial muscles can be programmed to contract or expand into a variety of shapes depending on their initial structure. The smart textile can either be attached to existing passive material or yarn to create an active fabric.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU2MDAwMzM2LXRlc3QgNy53ZWJwIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Structure of smart textile (<a href="https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/new-shape-shifting-material-can-move-robot" target="_blank">source</a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">Spider gripper&nbsp;</h2>What&rsquo;s next is not fabric, but something from a sci-fi movie. <a href="https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/rice-engineers-get-grip-necrobotic-spiders" target="_blank">Rice University researchers</a> found a way to use dead spiders as robotic grippers. What started with a dead spider in a lab became a gripper; Necrobotics.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU2MDI3MDc0LXRlc3QgOC53ZWJwIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Functioning of the spider gripper (<a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2022/07/necrobotic-spiders/" target="_blank">source</a>) If you haven&#39;t noticed yet, spiders&rsquo; legs curl up when they die. This is because spiders extend their legs with hydraulic pressure and when spiders die they lose this ability. Researchers tapped into the hydraulic infrastructure of dead spiders using a needle, and by pumping air, they extended the spider&rsquo;s legs. Releasing the pressure retracted the legs, allowing them to grab objects. <h2 dir="ltr">Congratulations to ROS Industrial&nbsp;for its 10-year anniversary</h2>Happy birthday <a href="https://rosindustrial.org/" target="_blank">ROS Industrial</a>! If you don&#39;t know it yet, ROS Industrial is an open source project that seeks to extend ROS and now ROS 2 to industrial hardware and applications.&nbsp;ROS Industrial identifies and prioritises capabilities for industrial robotics and automation to address current and future application problems. They also provide a wide range of user services, including technical support and training, to facilitate the continued adoption of ROS by the industry.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-6yAk05et1Q?&wmode=opaque&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-12="true" id="26562603" title="ROS-Industrial 10 Year Anniversary Mash Up"></iframe> They help us all carry the flag of open source in the industrial and automation domain. For that, we are truly thankful and we&rsquo;re proud to be part of this community. &nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">Robot Makers - Chapter 3 - Register now!&nbsp;</h2>Did you miss the interview with Akara Robotics CEO Conor McGinn? Don&rsquo;t worry,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O3X7MM1mx8" target="_blank">&nbsp;the video is now available on youtube</a>.&nbsp;And don&#39;t miss our <a href="https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/6793/555737?utm_source=Canonical&utm_medium=brighttalk&utm_campaign=555737?utm_source=wevolver&utm_medium=engage" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">upcoming interview with Russell Nickerson</a>, Engagement Liaison at MassRobotics. MassRobotics is a non-profit coworking space for robotics startups in Boston&#39;s Seaport, where Russell supports more than 60 residence startups.&nbsp;Based on his experience scaling robotics companies, Russell will share the dos and don&#39;ts of go-to-market strategy.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYxMTYwMTQ5MDQyLVtXZWJpbmFyXSBNYXNzUm9ib3RpY3MgUm9ib3QgTWFrZXJzIDIgKDIpLnBuZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><ul><li dir="ltr">Register now for <a href="https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/6793/555737?utm_source=Canonical&utm_medium=brighttalk&utm_campaign=555737?utm_source=wevolver&utm_medium=engage" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chapter 3 of the Robot Maker series</a></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Open source robotics &ndash; white papers</h2>We recently published a whitepaper about the importance of<a href="https://ubuntu.com/engage/robot-operating-system-choice?utm_source=wevolver&utm_medium=engage" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;choosing the right OS for your robot</a>. Picking the right OS could make a big difference in factors like security, maintenance and infrastructure for deployment.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU2MDcxNzI2LXRlc3QgOS53ZWJwIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><ul><li>Review the implications and explore <a href="https://ubuntu.com/engage/robot-operating-system-choice?utm_source=wevolver&utm_medium=engage" id="isPasted" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">why so many developers chose Ubuntu</a>.&nbsp;</li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Open source robotics &ndash; video news</h2>Another month, another video. More news, more applications, more robots! &nbsp;<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O29XoRFNc0k?&wmode=opaque&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> If you want us to feature your robotics application, just send us an email at <a data-fr-linked="true" href="mailto:robotics.community@canonical.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">robotics.community@canonical.com</a>.<ul><li dir="ltr">And don&#39;t forget to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/UbuntuOS/?sub_confirmation=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">follow us for more robotics news, demos and tutorials!</a>&nbsp;</li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Open-source robotics &ndash; ROS 2 shared memory tutorial</h2>After receiving questions regarding an error message issued by ROS 2 applications in snaps, we decided to put together a blog post on this matter <a href="https://ubuntu.com/blog/how-to-use-ros-2-shared-memory-in-snaps?utm_source=wevolver&utm_medium=blog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&ldquo;How to use ROS 2 shared memory in snaps&rdquo;</a><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjYwNTU2MDkzNDI3LXRlc3QgMTAud2VicCIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><a href="https://ubuntu.com/blog/how-to-use-ros-2-shared-memory-in-snaps?utm_source=wevolver&utm_medium=blog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In this post</a>, we review the shared memory mechanism in ROS 2, explain why the shared memory feature causes error messages in snaps and propose different solutions to tackle it.As usual, we&rsquo;d love to get your feedback. Feel free to reach out on the <a href="https://forum.snapcraft.io/" target="_blank">snapcraft forum</a>.<h2 dir="ltr">Stay tuned for more robotics news</h2>As always, we would love to hear from you. Send a summary of your robotics innovation and project to <a href="mailto:robotics.community@canonical.com" target="_blank">robotics.community@canonical.com</a>, and we will share it in our next robotics newsletter or monthly video. Thanks for reading!

Monthly robotics news blog. Discover the latest innovations, products, research, tutorials, and security news for robotics.

The State of Robotics, August 2022

In this episode, we talk about an initiative from EPFL to allow those with spinal cord injuries to control robots for help with day-to-day tasks and MIT’s bug robots that are taking big strides for small scaled bio-robotics. As always, you can find these and other interesting &amp; impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/32c37b88-b3ef-47fb-9e84-e99e608e1ed2?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> <hr>This podcast is sponsored by <a href="https://www2.mouser.com/" id="isPasted" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mouser Electronics</a>.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQyNDk1NDE5ODQwLU1vdXNlci1zcG9uc29yLTEtYS5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><hr><h3 id="isPasted">EPISODE NOTES</h3>(2:25) - Mind-controlled Robots 🧠🦾(12:25) - Bug Robots 🐞🤖Episode 53 was brought to you by Mouser Electronics, Farbod &amp; Daniel’s favorite electronics distributor. Click <a href="https://resources.mouser.com/medical/drawing-a-blank-on-brain-computer-interfaces" target="_blank">here&nbsp;</a>to read the article giving an overview of brain-computer interface technologies.<hr>About the podcast:Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell &amp; Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series.&nbsp;To learn more about this show, please visit the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" target="_blank">shows page</a>. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.Be sure to give us a follow and review on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-next-byte/id1548255861?l=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a> podcasts, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6lPPsRtegnivsRUEsQ09R7?si=IPMiah7xT_apJtPjqvXMlA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!Take a few seconds to leave us a review. It really helps!&nbsp;<a href="https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2</a>If you do it and send us proof, we’ll give you a shoutout on the show.

In this episode, we talk about an initiative from EPFL to allow those with spinal cord injuries to control robots for help with day-to-day tasks and MIT’s bug robots that are taking big strides for small scaled bio-robotics.

Podcast: Mind-Control and Bug-Like Robots

In this episode, we talk about how starfish larvae inspired robots can revolutionize drug delivery and drones with flacon-like legs for landing. As always, you can find these and other interesting &amp; impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com.<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/b8a350ca-8fe0-4d5d-8b43-10464de4b1c5?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe>&nbsp;<hr>This podcast is sponsored by <a href="https://www2.mouser.com/" id="isPasted" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mouser Electronics</a>. &nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQwMDcyODU5NzI1LU1vdXNlci1zcG9uc29yLTEtYS5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><hr><h3 id="isPasted">EPISODE NOTES</h3>(3:00) - Starfish-inspired Robot ⭐️🤖(11:30) - Drones With Bird-like Legs🚁🦅Episode 49 was brought to you by Mouser Electronics, Farbod &amp; Daniel’s favorite electronics distributor. Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWQRmPF7kpo" target="_blank">here</a> to watch the video of Grant Imahara at Carnegie Mellon University discussing biorobotics.<hr>About the podcast:Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell &amp; Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series.&nbsp;To learn more about this show, please visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" target="_blank">shows page</a>. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.Be sure to give us a follow and review on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-next-byte/id1548255861?l=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a> podcasts,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6lPPsRtegnivsRUEsQ09R7?si=IPMiah7xT_apJtPjqvXMlA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!Take a few seconds to leave us a review. It really helps!&nbsp;<a href="https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2</a>If you do it and send us proof, we’ll give you a shoutout on the show.

In this episode, we talk about how starfish larvae inspired robots can revolutionize drug delivery and drones with flacon-like legs for landing. 

Podcast: Falcon Inspired Drones

In this episode, we talk about a breakthrough in biorobotics with self-reproducing xenobots and a leap in stable tissue engineering designs. As always, you can find these and other interesting &amp; impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com. &nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/56dfea3f-88e3-4e7c-b408-230412dd1710?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> <hr>This podcast is sponsored by <a href="https://www2.mouser.com/" id="isPasted" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mouser Electronics</a>.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjM5NDg3ODU4MTIzLU1vdXNlci1zcG9uc29yLTEtYS5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><hr><h3 id="isPasted">EPISODE NOTES</h3>(1:01) - Team Builds First Living Robots - That Can Reproduce(11:30) - Tissue Engineering Using Mechanobiology And Micromanipulation<hr>About the podcast:Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell &amp; Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series.&nbsp;To learn more about this show, please visit the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" target="_blank">shows page</a>. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.Be sure to give us a follow and review on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-next-byte/id1548255861?l=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a> podcasts, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6lPPsRtegnivsRUEsQ09R7?si=IPMiah7xT_apJtPjqvXMlA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!Take a few seconds to leave us a review. It really helps!&nbsp;<a href="https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2</a>If you do it and send us proof, we’ll give you a shoutout on the show.

In this episode, we talk about a breakthrough in biorobotics with self-reproducing xenobots and a leap in stable tissue engineering designs.

Podcast: Self-Replicating Robots

In any seemingly quiet pond the still waters actually team with tiny pond dwellers called&nbsp;Euglena gracilis.Unseen to the naked eye, the single-celled organism spirals through the water, pulled along a relatively straight path by a whiplike appendage in search of just the right level of light.But a new paper published Sept. 24 in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41567-018-0277-7" target="_blank">Nature Physics</a> describes how, under some circumstances, Euglena halts its forward progress and begins tracing out elaborate counterclockwise polygons &mdash; triangles, squares, pentagons &mdash; in a mathematically defined effort to find a better environment.The discovery, led by <a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/hans-riedel-kruse" target="_blank">Ingmar Riedel-Kruse</a>, assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, could help scientists design tiny swimming robots of the future to be more efficient and effective at maneuvering through the bloodstream, for example, or navigating watery environments.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to understand biological systems in a mathematical way,&rdquo; Riedel-Kruse said. &ldquo;Seemingly simple feedback loops in single cells can actually generate rather complex behaviors in order to accomplish various tasks.&rdquo;<h2>Well-studied organism</h2>Scientists in the 1800s once marveled at finding Euglena &mdash; a greenish oblong with a red eyespot and long, whiplike flagellum for swimming &mdash; under a microscope. Since then, the organism has been observed by countless generations of biology students. With such a history of being watched, it came as a surprise when postdoctoral fellow Alan Tsang first noticed Euglena&rsquo;s novel behavior in a computer model he&rsquo;d developed to study how it moves in relation to light. In his model, when he simulated increased light, the organism began tracing out polygons.Riedel-Kruse remembered being skeptical when Tsang first described what his model predicted.&ldquo;It was hard to believe that it&rsquo;s true,&rdquo; Riedel-Kruse said. &ldquo;I thought there was something wrong with the code.&rdquo; But when the pair checked under the microscope &mdash; increasing light levels as in the simulation &mdash; there were the polygons.The shapes are a result of how Euglena navigates the world. Because the organism normally rolls through the water on its long axis, the eyespot rotates to survey 360 degrees of light. In steady light conditions &mdash; which is normal under a microscope &mdash; it meanders along in a relatively straight path.However, Tsang said, if the eyespot detects increased light intensity, the Euglena makes a hard turn.&ldquo;Then they don&rsquo;t see the light and they swim straight again,&rdquo; Riedel-Kruse said. &ldquo;But since they keep rolling, then after a full cycle they see again the strong light so they make another strong side turn.&rdquo;Enough straight lines followed by sharp turns and a triangle is born.Tsang noticed that over the course of about 30 seconds, Euglena adapted to the stronger light and the turns became less sharp, creating ever-expanding polygons &mdash; squares, then pentagons &mdash; until, finally, the Euglena headed in a relatively straight line.As for why nobody had seen this before, Riedel-Kruse said people rarely alter light levels while observing Euglena under a microscope. But since Tsang was specifically trying to model how the organism moves in relation to light, he did something unusual and the behavior appeared.<h2>A novel behavior</h2>Riedel-Kruse argued that the behavior makes sense for a Euglena swimming along in a pond under a comfortable source of shade. When it suddenly encounters bright sunlight it can turn quickly to seek a patch of shade. By slowly spiraling outward if the first few turns didn&rsquo;t work, the Euglena ups its chances of eventually getting out of the sunlight.Riedel-Kruse&rsquo;s lab studies Euglena in part to better understand how microorganisms navigate their watery worlds. The researchers also integrate what they learn about Euglena into interactive biology setups for education. Euglena is an unusual organism that can both make its own food and eat what it finds in the water. It is related to plants, animals and fungi &mdash; all known as eukaryotes &mdash; but is a separate group with some unique characteristics.&ldquo;Because it is part of an outgroup to most eukaryotic life, you could learn something that is general, and you can also find out how diverse eukaryotic life can be,&rdquo; Riedel-Kruse said. &ldquo;That makes Euglena really interesting to me.&rdquo;What&rsquo;s more, Riedel-Kruse and Tsang said what they learn &mdash; and the mathematical models they developed &mdash; could be useful for microscale robotics.&ldquo;There is an emerging field where people are trying to engineer and program microscopic swarm robotics for things like microsurgery or drug delivery,&rdquo; Tsang said. &ldquo;I definitely see people looking for efficient control mechanisms at the microscale.&rdquo;<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oxwP-waWJlQ?&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 1115px; height: 610px;"></iframe>

Euglena swim in polygons to avoid light which may help scientists understand biological systems in a mathematical way. | Video by Riedel-Kruse Lab

New insights about how euglena navigate their world could lead to advances in the way miniature robots of the future maneuver through the bloodstream or other watery environments.

Tiny pond dwellers could help scientists design swimming robots

Robots perform many tasks that humans can&rsquo;t or don&#39;t want to perform, getting around on intricately designed wheels and limbs. If they tip over, however, they are rendered almost useless. A team of University of Illinois mechanical engineers and entomologists are looking to click beetles, who can right themselves without the use of their legs, to solve this robotics challenge.The researchers presented their findings at Living Machines 2017: The 6th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems at Stanford University, and later won second place in a student and faculty research competition at the international BIOMinnovate Challenge, in Paris, France &ndash; a research expo that showcases biologically-inspired design in engineering, medicine and architecture.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9ozz2jRfBUk?&wmode=opaque" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 766px; height: 406px;" frameborder="0"></iframe> &ldquo;This idea came to life when a group of insect physiology students decided to take a closer look at what makes click beetles jump as part of a class project,&rdquo; said <a href="https://www.life.illinois.edu/entomology/index.html" target="_blank">department of entomology</a> research scientist and study co-author <a href="https://www.life.illinois.edu/entomology/faculty/alleyne.html" target="_blank">Marianne Alleyne.</a>The beetles have a unique hinge-like mechanism between their heads and abdomens that makes a clicking sound when initiated and allows them to flip into the air and back onto their feet when they are knocked over, Alleyne said.&ldquo;Very little research had been performed on these beetles, and I thought this legless jumping mechanism would be a perfect candidate for further exploration in the field of bioinspiration,&rdquo; said Alleyne, who teaches a bioinspiration design course with <a href="https://mechanical.illinois.edu/" target="_blank">mechanical science and engineering</a> professor, co-author and lead investigator <a href="https://mechanical.illinois.edu/directory/faculty/awissa" target="_blank">Aimy Wissa</a>.The researchers looked at several species of click beetles, ranging in size from a few just few millimeters to several centimeters in length.&ldquo;Each insect goes through an assembly line of analyses that involve basic characterization, high-speed filming to observe the jump and measurements in the <a href="https://publish.illinois.edu/tribology/" target="_blank">Materials Tribiology Lab</a> with co-author and mechanical science and engineering professor <a href="http://mechanical.illinois.edu/directory/profile/acd" target="_blank">Alison Dunn</a>, to determine how much force it takes to overcome the friction of the hinge within an individual beetles jumping mechanism,&rdquo; Wissa said. &ldquo;We observe, model and validate each stage of the jump with the hopes that we can later integrate them into a self-righting robot.&rdquo;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1568998642025-118939.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The University of Illinois click beetle robotics team. Front row, from left: Professor Aimy Wissa, Aidan Garrett, Luis Urrutia, Ophelia Bolmin and professor Alison Dunn. Back row, from left: Isandro Malik, Xander Hazel, Robert Chapa, Harmen Alleyne, Chengfang Duan and research scientist Marianne Alleyne. Garrett, Malik and H. Alleyne are University of Illinois Laboratory High School students. Photo by L. Brian StaufferThe group has already built several prototypes of a hinge-like, spring-loaded device that will eventually be incorporated into a robot, the researchers said.&ldquo;This study is a two-way street &ndash; engineers are informing the biologists and vice versa,&rdquo; Wissa said. &ldquo;We look forward to seeing where this research will take us and are very proud of the attention it received at the BIOMinnovate Challenge expo.&rdquo;

Click beetles can jump without the aid of their limbs when they are tipped onto their backsides. A team of University of Illinois researchers are examining this mechanism to engineer self-righting robots.  Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

Robots perform many tasks that humans can’t or don't want to perform, getting around on intricately designed wheels and limbs. If they tip over, however, they are rendered almost useless.

microrobots

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