This Teeny Alcohol-Powered Robot Beetle Has Earned Its Own Guinness World Record
Image via Washington State University
The Guinness World Record for the smallest-ever crawling robot goes to the ‘RoBeetle’, a less-than-pint-sized little “beetle” that weighs around the same as three grains of rice.
This 88-gram (0.19-pound) feat was developed by Néstor O. Pérez-Arancibia, Flaherty Associate Professor in Engineering of the Washington State University. It’s an entirely “soft” robot, which means that instead of electronics powering its movements, it uses air flow and alcohol—liquid methanol—instead.
It’s not much bigger than a real beetle, and its silhouette could almost pass off as one. Described as “uniquely powered” using the “catalytic combustion of methanol,” its two front legs pave the way forward for the rest of its body to follow diligently behind.
Walking isn’t the only thing that it can do, though. The RoBeetle is perfectly capable of climbing slopes and carrying objects that weigh up to 2.6 times its own 88 grams. This is thanks to the heat from the catalytic reaction, which powers the tiny robotic system.
Pérez-Arancibia, who has developed countless nature-inspired robots, hopes his creations can be used to solve “tricky engineering problems” and explore areas we can’t usually reach. Squid or mice are used as examples, since they’re able to “seamlessly squeeze themselves like liquid into tight places.”
Although it has been declared in the statement that biology—and insects, in particular—will “surpass their robotic counterparts in almost every aspect,” he also hopes that developments in robotics will be “significantly better at mimicking natural systems” over the next decade.
[via Boing Boing, image via Washington State University]
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