Is that a kumquat? No wait, a testicle? Maybe a beachball? No perhaps a useless robot that can roll around by emulating all the former? YES!
bat wings? yes please!
Made at the University of Chicago, this prototype’s soft body wall is made of compartments that can be flipped between rigid and flexible states, while a void at its centre can be pumped up with or emptied of air. The robot can “walk” by loosening a few of the skin compartments and letting the pumped-up central space bulge the body wall outwards.
Technology explained above will now allow squishy balls easy access almost nowhere! Lookout world, because here comes the boring!
