Most people think that cockroaches are nasty pests. But Roy Ritzmann has found a lot to love about them. "They're fast. They're agile," Ritzmann says. "And they're easy to take care of."
For Ritzmann, caring for cockroaches and other insects is more than just a quirky hobby. It is part of his job at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio. Ritzmann, a biologist, is helping other scientists at the school use bugs as models for robots. The scientists hope that new, insectlike robots will be able to operate in places that other robots can't.
"Many engineers now realize that much can be learned from biology," Roger Quinn, the director of Case Western Reserve's Biorobotics Laboratory, told TFK. A small but growing group of robotics designers believe that the behaviors and physical structures that help animals thrive could also make machines more useful.
Arthropods are especially good robot models. Rugged arthropods include insects; crustaceans, such as lobsters and crabs; and arachnids, such as scorpions and spiders. Biologists and robotics scientists say arthropods have all the right moves. They are able to travel quickly over rocky or uneven ground.
Arthropods also have many sensors on the outside of their bodies. The sensors, including antennas and fine, highly sensitive hairs, help the creatures respond quickly to changes in their environment.
Acting Like a Bunch of Animals
Using animal-like sensors, the new robots will be able to react
naturally in an unpredictable environment. They may find a path through
a collapsed building to survivors of an earthquake, for example. They
have the ability to climb, crawl or swim into dangerous situations or
places.
Joseph Ayers is a biologist at Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts. He has developed a robot based on the lobster. The U.S. military may one day use the RoboLobster to search for underwater mines, which are explosive devices.
The way a lobster hunts for food is exactly the way you would want a robot to hunt for weapons. The lobster's sense of smell is so strong that it can locate its prey by following its scent along the ocean floor. Scientists are developing electronic sensors that work like a lobster's nose. Some can sniff out explosives underwater. Put such sensors on a robot and you have a machine that is highly skilled at hunting down its prey--in this case, mines.
NASA scientists are thinking of sending multilegged robots, modeled on scorpions and cockroaches, to explore Mars. The new robots will travel over big boulders, down steep drops and into tight spots where today's wheeled rovers cannot. By behaving like humble bugs, the new generation of robots may help humans unlock the mysteries of the universe.
Rise of the Robots
1961
Unimate, the first industrial robot, joins the assembly line at a
General Motors plant. The robotic arm performs such basic tasks as
stacking metal.
1966
The Stanford Research Institute, in California, creates Shakey, the
first mobile robot controlled by artificial intelligence. It took Shakey
hours to perform basic tasks.
1974
A researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology creates the
Silver Arm. Its delicate sensors allow it to work like human fingers to
assemble small items.
1994
Dante II, built by scientists from Carnegie Mellon University, collects
samples in Mount Spurr volcano in Alaska.
1997
Sojourner, NASA's first robotic vehicle, or rover, explores the surface
of Mars.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology begin
developing Kismet, a robotic head that can interact with humans through
facial expressions.
1999
Sony introduces its electronic toy dog AIBO.
2000
Honda introduces ASIMO. It is the first humanoid robot that can walk
forward and backward and turn while walking. ASIMO can even climb and
descend stairs gracefully.
2002
Roomba, a vacuuming robot, gets down to work.