Researchers at the University of Washington and Stanford University have developed a robot insects with hundreds of legs. Compared with other robots , the UW model has full capability to carry heavy loads , more than seven times its own weight and move in any direction.
Someday, tiny mobile devices could crawl through cracks to explore collapsed structures , collecting environmental samples or perform other tasks where small size is a benefit. UW ‘s robot weighs half a gram , is about 1 inch long by one-third of an inch wide and the thickness of a fingernail.
Technically it is a centipede , with 512 feet arranged in 128 groups of four. Each foot is formed by an electric wire sandwiched between two different materials, one of which expands in the heat more than the other. A current travels through the wire heats the two materials and one side expands, making standing fold . The ranks of foot dragging in this way in 20 to 30 times every second.
As with other such devices , a major problem is the power supply. A battery would only work on the robot for 10 minutes. Another problem is speed. Right now, the robot moves about 3 feet per hour.
