A study recently published in cutting edge science he is made from the nightmares of arachnophobes. And it turns out that a group of scientists from Rice University built a robot using dead spider.
Mainly searched small robot with grips very effective, as they could lift weights much higher than their own. The original idea might have been to fit all the necessary electronics into a metal case they built. But who wants to spend a fortune to create something that nature has already created with its inherent precision?
The key, they soon realized, was to use dead spiders. And it is that these animals have everything they need. Its legs can be used as tweezers, lift up to 130% of your body weight and furthermore, its movement is controlled hydraulic system which can bypass after his death. So far, they have only tested the concept, but the results are so positive that perhaps in a few years we will be able to visit a factory inhabited by an endless number of well-organized spiders. Yes, here it is again: things from nightmares.
Keys to making robots from dead spiders
In the case of humans, our musculoskeletal system It is based on pairs of muscles located in the limbs that act antagonistically: when one contracts, the other relaxes.
Nonetheless spider movement it’s very different. Their legs have only one flexor muscle, which pulls each limb inward. Instead, for the opposite movement, they have a central system serving all legs. This is a chamber called milletwhich is located in the center of the case and works through hydraulic system. That is, it contains a fluid whose pressure can be controlled by the animal’s nervous system through a set of valves that allow it to control each leg independently. In fact, as explained in The Vergethat’s why spider legs they shrink when they die. The flexor muscle pulls them in, and the hydraulic system has already lost the control that could push them out again.
Then what use is a dead spider to us? It may seem counterproductive, but it was this quality that so interested these scientists. They saw that the arachnids’ hydraulic system could be operated simply. insertion of a needle into the prosoma. This will allow air to move in and out, changing the pressure on the fluid and moving the legs.
If you add adequate electronic system, that nervous system, which no longer exists, could be introduced. The legs could be manipulated to be used as the pincers of one of those old machines with soft toys inside. Thus, we would encounter a spider robot. In fact, in the video below you can see how the result is very similar to the movement of these cars.
Following the traditions of our ancestors
The authors of this study insist that, in fact, what they are doing is not so new. For thousands of years people have taken advantage of What nature gave them. Some used hides to make coats. Others made arrowheads from bones. Everyone used the resources as best they could, and now, in the time of robots, this was the minimum that we could achieve.
necrotic, as the discipline is called, starts with spiders, but no doubt in the future it will surprise us with more types of robots. After all, this is a new cycle of life. A little different from what we are used to, but okay, let’s not say that people are not original. Tremble, Mufasa.
Source: Hiper Textual
