Robots have only relatively recently started to become more unique. While robotics has existed for a long while, robots often were mechanical hands that did one menial repetitive job. Today, we are seeing robots as tall as 4.5 meters and as small as a coin, the latter case being what we discuss today. There are even smaller robots that can do minuscule and delicate tasks. The coin-sized robot, mCLARI, is one such robot that can potentially save millions of people after major disasters.
Robots inspired by nature
This is also called biomimicry. It is crucial to act fast when people are buried under rubble, especially when caused by natural disasters or conflicts. At the same time, it is very hard to locate people amidst confusion and complications. Noise from under the rubble does not precisely tell rescuers where the person is, and it’s often that those buried are unconscious. To help them, a team of engineers at Colorado University Boulder came up with the idea of a Compliant Legged Articulated Robotic Insect, or CLARI.
CLARI is an animal-inspired miniature robot that can adapt its shape to squeeze through narrow spaces. The inspiration behind CLARI comes from real-life insects. CLARI weighs 2.59 grams and can shift between three forms to adapt to the gap it’s trying to pass. mCLARI improves on its predecessor by going even smaller, hence the addition of “m” for “mini”.
Compared to its predecessor, this robot is 60% smaller and 38% lighter while maintaining 80% of the power. The mCLARI can also compress its size up to 1.5 times and reach a top speed of circa three body lengths per second. It won the 2023 IROS Best Paper Award on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics as a testament to its usability. For example, if equipped with a camera, the robot can scout for survivors much faster than any human or existing technology.
All of mCLARI’s mobility is thanks to its exoskeleton. The engineers replicated the omnidirectional and shape-morphing structure of real-life insects. According to the research, its omnidirectional movement in laterally confined space is a never-before-seen innovation for legged robots. The award-winning paper also mentions that, for long-term future work, they want to add closed-loop control and autonomous decision-making to it.
YouTube: mCLARI: lateral body compliance robot (IROS 2023 – Best Paper Award)
Photo credit: The images used were taken by Heiko Kabutz and were made available for press usage.
Sources: Daniel Strain (CU Boulder Today) / University of Colorado Boulder / 2023 IROS / Cornell University
