Like a game Snake come to life, a new robot being developed at Stanford grows like a vine and has the ability to weave through tight spaces to provide applications from disaster relief to simplifying construction projects.
The main idea behind the robot is uncomplicated; the “snake” is a tube of soft thin plastic that is folded inside itself. As the material is forced out, either pneumatically or hydraulically, the robot grows longer. According to Stanford, the robot’s design is so useful because the tip moves and results in growth while the body remains stationary, making it incredibly difficult for the robot to become stuck.
“The body can be stuck to the environment or jammed between rocks, but that doesn’t stop the robot because the tip can continue to progress as new material is added to the end,” says Elliot Hawkes, a visiting Assistant Professor from the University of California, Santa Barbara in a Stanford article on the robot.
As the robot grows, it can pull cables along, which means it could be used in the construction industry to help wire new and renovated buildings by traveling in the walls, floors, or ceilings. The robot can make turns via a control system that differentially inflates the body and a software system bases direction decisions on images received from a camera at the tip, so pipes or other obstacles already located in the wall, ceiling, or floor space become non-issues.
Other applications include scaling the robot up for search and rescue operations, growing vertically to act as an antenna, or being used to deliver materials, such as water, to hard to reach places.
The robot is detailed in a Science Robotics paper published on June 19.
Related Stories
| May 2, 2013
BIM group proposes uniform standards for how complete plans need to be
A nationwide group of Building Information Modeling users, known as the BIMForum, is seeking industry input on a proposed set of standards establishing how complete Building Information Models (BIMs) need to be for different stages of the design and construction process.
| May 1, 2013
A LEGO lover's dream: Guide to building the world's iconic structures with LEGO
A new book from LEGO master builder Warren Elsmore offers instructions for creating scale models of buildings and landmarks with LEGO.
| May 1, 2013
World’s tallest children’s hospital pushes BIM to the extreme
The Building Team for the 23-story Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago implements an integrated BIM/VDC workflow to execute a complex vertical program.
| Apr 30, 2013
Healthcare lighting innovation: Overhead fixture uses UV to kill airborne pathogens
Designed specifically for hospitals, nursing homes, child care centers, and other healthcare facilities where infection control is a concern, the Arcalux Health Risk Management System (HRMS) is an energy-efficient lighting fixture that doubles as a germ-killing machine.
| Apr 23, 2013
Building material innovation: Concrete cloth simplifies difficult pours
Milliken recently debuted a flexible fabric that allows for concrete installations on slopes, in water, and in other hard to reach places—without the need for molds or mixing.
| Apr 19, 2013
Must see: Shell of gutted church on stilts, 40 feet off the ground
Construction crews are going to extremes to save the ornate brick façade of the Provo (Utah) Tabernacle temple, which was ravaged by a fire in December 2010.
| Apr 18, 2013
SOM, CASE team up to launch crowd-sourced apps library
SOM and CASE have formally launched AEC-APPS, the first crowd-sourced, web-based library for applications used by architects, engineers and construction professionals. This is a one-of-a-kind initiative in the AEC Industry and is a non-profit online community that allows digital tool users and toolmakers to share ideas, tips and resources.
| Apr 16, 2013
5 projects that profited from insulated metal panels
From an orchid-shaped visitor center to California’s largest public works project, each of these projects benefited from IMP technology.
| Apr 15, 2013
Using software and the power of the cloud to connect your back office to your field operations [webinar]
This webinar will focus on a new software subscription service that will help construction companies, general and specialty contractors connect their back office infrastructure with all of their field operations. The service will help capture, manage and report on the progress of existing construction jobs and help in the planning of new ones.
