Swarm Of Tiny Snail Robots Stick Together To Form New Structures

Researchers have built a swarm of miniature, snail-inspired robots, minus all the mucus. Instead, a retractable suction cup works in tandem with the remote-controlled machine’s tank-like treads to maneuver across both difficult terrain and over each other. Biomimicry is nothing new within the field of robotics. But while many aquatic and flying examples can navigate three-dimensional environments, that often isn’t the case for bots relegated to walking, crawling, or rolling along the ground. Determined to find a potential solution, roboticists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong looked to shelled gastropods for their design cues.

More From Popular Science