PHOTOS: A little bug-inspired robot created by a team of engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder has the potential to someday aid first responders during disasters.
The robot’s name is CLARI, which stands for Compliant Legged Articulated Robotic Insect. It was built in the image of a bug. It’s tiny, squishable and can shape-shift to fit through different gaps. The robot can fit in the palm of a hand and weighs less than a ping-pong ball.
“It has a modular design, which means it’s very easy to customize and add more legs,” doctoral student Heiko Kabutz said in a news release. “Eventually, we’d like to build an eight-legged, spider-style robot that could walk over a web.”
Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram said CLARI is still in its early stages, depending on wires for its power supply and to receive basic commands.