Researchers at Cornell University Monday presented A pair of bio-inspired robotics running on a fluid-powered hydraulic battery. The RFB (RFB) battery also mimics biological functions as it releases electrolytic fluids, which dissolve to create energy through chemical reaction.
The first two robots to appear are a hinged worm and a jellyfish designed by Cornell Engineering workshops. Batteries that feed these systems use built -in energy, “an approach that incorporates energy sources into a machine’s body to reduce its weight and costs,” according to the school.
Professor of Engineering and Aerospace Rob Shepherd thus describes underlying technology: “There are many plumbing robots and we are the first to use hydraulic fluid as a battery, which reduces the overall weight of the robot because the battery serves two purposes, providing two purposes. energy for the system and providing the power to move.
In addition to improving speed and movements, battery technology expanded the time of jellyfish robots in one hour and a half. The robot itself was built over the technology that the school used in the development of a Lion -inspired robot. When this system was revealed in 2019, the researchers referred to the circulated liquid as “robot blood”, which probably makes the battery a robot’s heart.
The jellyfish RFB has a tendon that pushes the robot upwards when bent in a bell shape. When the shape is loose, the robot sinks. System shots in action exhibit well -known movements that look like jellyfish as it navigates through water.
The worm, meanwhile, is made of articulated sections, similar to those observed in larger snake robots. Each section contains an engine and a tendon actuator, which extends and contributes to the creation.
The team notes that the transition from the submarine to land presented its own challenges. The leader between them is the fact that submerged robots do not require a rigid skeletal structure.
“This is how life on earth evolved,” says Shepherd. “You start with the fish, then you get a simple organism and is supported by the ground. The worm is a simple organism but it has more degrees of freedom.”
