Robot Aims To Walk On Water

qeorqe writes "CMU researchers are developing a robot that runs across water (PDF). It is modeled after the basilisk lizard, which has that rare ability. The researchers have done both computer simulations and experiments with test models."

Comments

neat trick.

[apodyopsis]

its a neat trick, but are there any commercial applications?

where does a robot that walks on water succeed over an autonomous boat?

I mean, at least when they developed the technological equivalent of the geckos foot they had very sound commercial applications in mind. As robot amphibious platforms go this has just got to be inefficient and unreliable.

learning about the lizards

[Takichi]

I encourage people to actually read the article. It breaks down the mechanics of the basilisk's run cycle quite nicely. It has some really nice images and graphs illustrating it, too. I know it's a lot to ask, but at least look at the pictures in the article! By the way, they point out that learning more about the way the basilisk actually runs on water is one of the merits of the paper.

An interesting question actually

[archeopterix]

its a neat trick, but are there any commercial applications?

where does a robot that walks on water succeed over an autonomous boat?

This question becomes interesting when you point it back at the lizard. Why does it walk on water instead of just swimming? My guess is that it's energy-efficient since it only has to overcome the viscosity of the air, not water.

Re:An interesting question actually

[aadvancedGIR]

I would bet the #1 reason is that it tries to avoid being eaten by a fish.

Watercross

[mdsolar]

Seems to me that they could reach their goal faster by mimicking the lizard more closely. Watercross http://www.iwausa.org/ works basically by slapping the water already. Just automate and you are there.
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