Science

'Squishy robots' can fall up to 600 FEET from a helicopter without getting damaged and


A ‘squishy’ robot that doesn’t break when it is dropped 600 feet (183m) has been created by engineers at the University of Berkeley.

The robots are football shaped and are made up of a 3D network of contractible rods which let them change their shape and to move around on the ground.

Emergency teams could deploy swarms of the robots into war zones or earthquakes, giving them access to the situation based on data the robots send back. 

The mobile devices can be dropped from the air via drones or other aircraft, or by ground vehicles, into environments not immediately accessible by humans. 

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Engineers at the University of Berkeley have created a 'squishy' robot (pictured) that doesn’t break when it is dropped 600 feet (183m) from air

Engineers at the University of Berkeley have created a ‘squishy’ robot (pictured) that doesn’t break when it is dropped 600 feet (183m) from air

Squishy Robotics, who created the bots, have called then the ‘eyes, ears, and sensor for first responders before and after entering the disaster scene’. 

They are built for situations where there are chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive concerns, according to its makers.

Sensors provide fast and vital information about how safe it is for a humans to enter a particular site thought to be hazardous. 

With the ability to gather visual, audio, chemical, biological, radiological as well as GPS information, they can detect toxic gases and biological risks.

With interchangeable sensor modules, these can be customised for different environments. 

The robots can be deployed in groups all at once – even swarms to gather data provide aggregate data.

UC Berkeley mechanical engineering professor Alice Agogino said: ‘Our rapidly deployable mobile sensor robots are designed to save lives, reduce costs and risks and increase effectiveness of emergency response.

‘They can survive a high drop into a disaster zone and provide life-saving information to first responders. 

‘They can also work as co-robots with their human partners on the ground when they arrive on the scene.’ 

The mobile devices can be dropped from the air (shown above) via drones or aircrafts or by ground vehicles into environments not immediately accessible by humans.

 The mobile devices can be dropped from the air (shown above) via drones or aircrafts or by ground vehicles into environments not immediately accessible by humans.

Emergency teams could deploy the robots in swarms into war zones or earthquakes, allowing them to assess the situation based on data the robots send back

Emergency teams could deploy the robots in swarms into war zones or earthquakes, allowing them to assess the situation based on data the robots send back

According to Squishy Robotics, the robots provides real-time video from the ground and data on basic atmospheric conditions such as data its gas sensors. 

Its website said: ‘Visual and chemical data gathered and transmitted from the robot enables disaster response teams to make better decisions, save lives, reduce costs and risks, and increase the effectiveness of the response, all while increasing safety of team members’.

Data from a number of different robots on the ground can be presented via a single interface for the user to make decisions.

But the ball-shaped robot was in fact designed with space exploration in mind – initially developed as a space probe.

Using the science of combining tension and compression its creators tried to build a structure that could be dropped from a spacecraft onto Saturn’s moon Titan for exploration.

They soon realised it could also be used for earthly purposes, particularly in disaster scenarios.

Its creators have called it the ‘eyes, ears, and sensor for first responders before and after entering the disaster scene'. The image shows the view from the robot cam as well as from the ground showing the device being dropped by a drone

Its creators have called it the ‘eyes, ears, and sensor for first responders before and after entering the disaster scene’. The image shows the view from the robot cam as well as from the ground showing the device being dropped by a drone

According to its makers, the robots are built for situations where there are chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive concerns. The image shows the image from the robot cam as well as from the ground

According to its makers, the robots are built for situations where there are chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive concerns. The image shows the image from the robot cam as well as from the ground

The team says that while they are still working with NASA on a space probe, the fact that so many first responders lost in emergencies in hazardous conditions.

Dr Agogino said: ‘I saw a report by the Red Cross and Red Crescent that 400 first responders lost their lives to save others in the last 20 years. 

‘Many of these lives could have been saved with better situational awareness before entering disaster zones.

‘Our robots get information that first responders need in order to stay safe and respond faster and more effectively.’

the team is working with emergency services to test the effectiveness of the robot and was recently with the Los Angeles County and the Houston fire departments to see if it can be used in real fires.

The robot has already been showcase at a number of tech conferences including the About Operation Convergent Reponse where it was part of an Earthquake test and was dropped into a pile of rubber in which it survived and was able to operate. 

HOW DOES THE SQUISHY ROBOT WORK?  

The robots are football shaped and are made up of a 3D network of contractible rods which let them change their shape and to move around on the ground.

The robot doesn’t break when it is dropped 600 feet (183m) from the air has been created by engineers at the University of Berkeley together with Squishy Robotics.

They can gather visual, audio, chemical, biological, radiological as well as GPS information. 

This means they can detect toxic gases and biological risks.

With interchangeable sensor modules, sensors can be customised for different environments.

The robots can be deployed in groups all at once – even swarms to gather data provide aggregate data to the user via a single interface.

The mobile devices can be dropped from the air via drones or other aircraft, or by ground vehicles, into environments not immediately accessible by humans.

 



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