(June 22, 2015) The
tiny tube circled an ant’s thorax, gently trapping the insect and demonstrating
the utility of a microrobotic tentacle developed by Iowa State University
engineers.
“Most robots use two fingers and to pick things up they have
to squeeze,” said Jaeyoun (Jay) Kim, an Iowa State University associate
professor of electrical and computer engineering and an associate of the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. “But these tentacles wrap around very
gently.”
And that makes them perfect hands and fingers for small
robots designed to safely handle delicate objects.
The spiraling microrobotic tentacles are described in a
research paper recently published in the journal Scientific Reports. Kim is the
lead author. Co-authors are In-Ho Cho, an Iowa State assistant professor of
civil, construction and environmental engineering; and Jungwook Paek, who
recently earned his Iowa State doctorate in electrical and computer engineering
and is moving to post-doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia.