Lizard-style bot ‘swims’ through sand, straight into your worst nightmare

While robots still struggle to do basic things like hang out with us or bring us cookies, it’s comforting to know that the variety of locomotion methods for this burgeoning race shows no sign of slowing. The latest of these “this would be a cool way for a robot to make its way through a disaster site and rescue people” solutions is a robot from a team at the Georgia Institute of Technology that can “swim” through sand, much like a lizard. Sand’s a bit of a toughie, in case you’ve never found out for yourself in an ill-fated game of sand volleyball, thanks to its combo of solid and fluid dynamics. The spandex-clad, squirmy solution uncovered by Georgia Tech gets along nicely, however, going mainly with the fluid approach. Check it creeping creepily on video after the break.

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Lizard-style bot ‘swims’ through sand, straight into your worst nightmare originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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