Mar 2 2011
A team of physicists have apparently discovered the concept of swimming through sand. After conducting an in-depth analysis on the motion of lizards, the team has designed a snake-like robot by developing a computer model to propel the robot.
The first of its kind robotic model is impressive considering the fact that it can travel through a medium that is neither water nor air.
Scientists have worked out how sand lizards propel themselves through sand
The robotic copy project was conducted by a team of physicists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the U.S. They conducted in-detail analysis of the sandfish lizard, a North African reptile, to replicate the lizard's motion. The project aims to bring innovation in landmine detection systems, earthquake monitoring devices and sub-surface discoveries on other planets. This snake-like robot would also be useful in applications relating to space exploration.
Researchers, using cameras, found that lizards moved their bodies in a smooth repetitive motion like a sine wave. The computer model they developed was unable to replicate millions of sand particles. So the medium that was developed for the navigation of the robot consisted of 3mm wide glass beads.
Fortunately, the lizard moved in exactly the same way and they were able to replicate its motion in a robotic copy and their computer model. When they compared both with the original, the comparison results showed that the movements obtained using the robots were close to the original with a marginal error of 8%. This discovery was considered very vital for further research.
Source: http://www.gatech.edu/