Meet the soft robots that can amputate limbs and fuse with other robots
Roboticists at The Faboratory at Yale University have developed a way for soft robots to replicate some of the more unsettling things that animals
Roboticists at The Faboratory at Yale University have developed a way for soft robots to replicate some of the more unsettling things that animals and insects can accomplish — say, a reptile self-amputating a limb, or ants building bridges by temporarily fusing their bodies.
In one demo video, we see a soft quadruped robot crawling along when a falling rock traps a back leg. The reversible joint attaching the leg is heated with current, allowing the robot to break free of its leg and escape. Although it’s not shown in the video, the limb can be re-attached, as well.