Worms, waves and robots

Abstract

The Biologically Inspired Robotics group at Case Western Reserve University has developed several innovative designs for a new kind of robot that uses peristalsis, the method of locomotion used by earthworms. Unlike previous wormlike robots, our concept uses a continuously deformable outer mesh that interpolates the body position between discrete actuators. Here, we summarize our progress with this soft hyper-redundant robot.