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Robotic water strider rows itself forward by fanning feathery feet
Although we've seen a number of different robotic water striders over the years, scientists are still finding clever new aspects of the insects to replicate. Recently, for instance, researchers created a strider-bot that zips across the water's surface via fans on its feet.
Utilizing electron microscopy, Ajou's Prof. Je-Sung Koh and postdoctoral researcher Dongjin Kim found that the individual strands of each fan consist of a central flat, flexible, ribbon-like strip with smaller barbules branching off the sides of it – it really is a lot like a feather. The semi-aquatic robot Rhagobot (left) alongside a close-up of one its bio-inspired fans, which opens upon contact with waterAjou University, South Korea "Our robotic fans self-morph using nothing but water surface forces and flexible geometry, just like their biological counterparts," says Prof. Koh, senior co-author of the study along with Georgia Tech's Prof. Saad Bhamla.
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