Researchers at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering have developed WorMa, a robot inspired by worms. It is designed to travel across rough coastal ground, including rocks and slopes, and enter and leave water. Rather than changing its basic movement pattern, it adjusts its weight balance. A pump moves water between containers in its head and tail.
When more water is at the head, the front presses harder against the ground. This improves its grip when climbing and helps it pull itself out of water. Moving water towards the tail makes swimming faster and more efficient. To climb a step, WorMa begins with a heavy head, then moves water backwards to lift its front. Once its head reaches the edge, water moves forwards again. It climbed steps up to 15 centimetres high in tests.
The robot could help with environmental monitoring and checking structures. The researchers are developing faster pumps and controls that use sensors to detect changes in terrain. These could allow WorMa to adjust its weight automatically as it moves between different surfaces.
