Robot Walks on Water

Reported July 2006

PITTSBURGH (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Nature inspires many things, from fashion to perfume to furniture. Now, technology gets a little inspiration.

After watching tiny bugs like these walk on water, Carnegie Mellon University mechanical engineer Metin Sitti, Ph.D., wanted one of his own.

"We tried to make a robot to simulate the insect," he tells Ivanhoe. He tried and succeeded. This new tiny, lightweight, spindly legged creature is a robot that can propel itself across water in all directions. It can turn even sharp corners like the insect does, so it's very agile.

The 'bot's body is made of a super-light carbon fiber material. Its steel legs are coated with non-stick Teflon to repel water. A tiny battery gives it power.

"Right now we move by five centimeters per second, and the real insect can go up to one meter per second. So we are like around 20-times less speed," Sitti says.

It might be slower, but just like insects, the robot doesn't float. It stands on top of water thanks to the physics of surface tension. The surface is so strong that the robot's feet only dent the water without breaking the surface while supporting the weight of the robot without sinking.

"When they put their legs on the surface of the water surface, they repel each other," Sitti says. "And that repulsion can lift the body because it's so light bodyweight."

In the near future, Sitti says his creation could carry sensors to detect toxins in water supplies. "We can make many of them, like tens or hundreds of them, and cover a wide range and give you constant, continuous, water quality report," he says.

Researchers have already received interest in the robot as an educational toy, to educate students and the public about water surface effects, and to provide entertainment.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Carnegie Mellon University
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Pittsburgh, PA
(412) 268-2500

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Washington, D.C. 20036-5104
(202) 785-0017
ieeeusa@ieee.org
http://www.ieee.org

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