The Capitol Column | Staff | Sunday, August 19, 2012
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is having a stellar month. Shortly after researchers created a robotic earthworm that can inch its way through small spaces, DARPA announced the development of a color-changing robot which could someday be used in military operations.
Inspired by nature, researchers have created a robotic system that allows soft robots to camouflage themselves against a background such as rocks, grass or dirt. Besides military uses, researchers believe that the “dynamic coloration” system could assist with search and rescue operations and the planning of complex surgeries.
The project, which is being accomplished under DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) program, is led by George Whitesides and Stephen Morin at Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.
Researchers were able to design a color-changing robot by creating narrow channels into the molds through which air and fluids can be pumped. The robot can change color, temperature and glow by sending fluids through the narrow channels and researchers can move the robot through pneumatic pressurization.
“When we began working on soft robots, we were inspired by soft organisms, including octopi and squid,” said Mr. Morin. “One of the fascinating characteristics of these animals is their ability to control their appearance, and that inspired us to take this idea further and explore dynamic coloration. I think the important thing we’ve shown in this paper is that even when using simple systems — in this case we have simple, open-ended micro-channels — you can achieve a great deal in terms of your ability to camouflage an object, or to display where an object is.”
DARPA was so thrilled about the creation of a chameleon-like robot that they created a video of it in use. In a statement posted online, DARPA says that robots of “many shapes and sizes” will be the way of the future for military operations. However, DARPA notes that the costs of robotic technology are usually prohibitive because of the complex technology that goes into making a robot.
DARPA says that in the video above, a color-changing robot moves onto a bed of rocks is pumped full of fluid that matches the color of the rocks. According to researchers, the robot can move at a speed of approximately 40 meters per hour with fluid; without fluid, the robot can move at a speed of approximately 67 meters per hour. Like the robotic earthworm, the robot has the ability to move through small spaces.
According to DARPA, the color-changing robot could cost as little as $100 to make due to the low manufacturing costs associated with the use of molds. By lowering the costs of developing robots, DARPA has opened the door to DOD investment in robotic technology.
Earlier in the month, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced the creation of a robotic earthworm made almost entirely of soft materials. Researchers at MIT, Harvard and Seoul National University made the “Meshworm” so resilient that it can be smashed and still inch away, without damage.
The robotic earthworm’s construction quickly raised questions about the future uses of such an invention. Many have speculated that the “Meshworm” could become the U.S. military’s next generation of small, silent spies, as the research was supported by DARPA. In fact, the robot’s ability to travel silently through small spaces makes it an ideal tool for reconnaissance, surveillance, and exploration.
Now that researchers have also developed a color-changing robot, DARPA may have two new candidates for spy school.
Source: http://www.capitolcolumn.com/news/darpas-chameleon-shape-changing-robot-could-usher-in-new-age-of-spying/#ixzz2435qnRuy
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