With an octagon shape similar to a radial spider web, the robot was developed by arranging elastic and conductive fibers which have the same thickness with the lead of a mechanical pencil. (image: National Research Foundation of Korea)
DAEJEON, July 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean researchers have developed a spider web robot that can capture objects in the same way as a spider does.
The National Research Foundation of Korea announced on Thursday that a research team led by Sun Jung-yoon and Kim Ho-young, professors at Seoul National University, developed a spider web robot that can electronically sense an object and pull it without making contacts.
With an octagon shape similar to a radial spider web, the robot was developed by arranging elastic and conductive fibers which have the same thickness with the lead of a mechanical pencil.
The robot can create a strong electric field radiating in the distance of several centimeters to stimulate objects in its vicinity.
After sensing the electric field of such objects, the robot can trap them using strong electrostatic gravitational forces.
This is similar to the way a spider captures its prey. Spiders sense the vibration of prey that occurs when they are caught in the spider web.
The new robot can capture not only conductive materials such as metals and ceramics but also non-conductive materials such as glass and leaves.
Made of elastic materials such as gels, the spider web robot can be enlarged up to three times its original size. In addition, it can capture an object that weighs up to 68 times more than itself (0.2 gram).
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
