Researchers at the Adolphe Merkle Institute and Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, USA) have developed a soft, worm-like robot that can wriggle itself through spaces that are considerably smaller than its cross-section. The electrically activated robot can also move across sticky or slippery surfaces in any direction.
Soft earthworm-like robots that exhibit mechanical compliance can, in principle, navigate through uneven terrains and constricted spaces that are inaccessible to other robots. Such devices are potentially useful for applications that include search and rescue operations, underground exploration, pipe inspection, and even biomedical procedures such as endoscopy or colonoscopy. However, unlike the living species that they mimic, most of the previously reported worm-like robots contain rigid components that limit their mechanical compliance, such as motors and other actuators.