Tubular Technology

摘要

WITH A PUFF OF AIR, this vine-inspired robot can nose itself into a number of tight situations. Created by researchers at Stanford University and reported in July, the contraption is essentially a plastic tube connected to an air pump. It moves by turning itself inside out, drawing material from the inside to extend the tube farther - similar to those water snake toys from the '90s. Another version of the bot has a chamber on either side; inflating just one enables it to turn.