Posted on by Evan Gough

An Earthworm Robot Could Help Us Explore Other Worlds

This new soft robot is inspired by earthworms and can crawl thanks to soft actuators that elongate or squeeze when air passes through them or is drawn out. Image Credit: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Evolution is a problem-solver, and one of the problems it solved in many different ways is locomotion. Birds fly. Fish swim. Animals walk.

But earthworms found another way to move around the niche they occupy. Can we copy them to explore other worlds?

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Posted on by Evan Gough

So Cool! Japanese Space Research Center will be Suspended Over a Moonlike Crater

The robotics research center will be suspended 18 meters above the man-made "crater", which is actually an old mine site. Image: Clouds Architecture Office.
The robotics research center will be suspended 18 meters above the man-made "crater", which is actually an old mine site. Image: Clouds Architecture Office.

The architectural design behind Japan’s new space research center is mind-boggling. The futuristic building will incorporate elements of spacecraft design, which emphasize light weight and high functionality. The whole thing will be suspended over a man-made, Moon-like crater.

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