Simple Robot Climbs Through Tubes (w/ Video)

One of the most interesting robots was a simple -- and fast -- bot designed to climb easily through tubes.

This small robot, created at Carnegie Mellon's Biorobotics lab and the Manipulation lab, uses vibration to help it move quickly up tubes.

The result is this little device. It's simple motor turns an unbalanced mass at a uniform velocity. As the mass swings around, it causes the robot to bounce back and forth between the tube walls. Two rubber o-rings let the researches specify the exact contact points and increase friction with the walls.

Instead of using bristles or fibers, and vibration that moves the robot in a low-friction direction, the o-rings provide a little more control for the robot's operators.

Source:physorg