Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Meet DARPA's New Militarized Earthworm

Posted by Soulskill on from the that-sure-is-something dept.

derekmead writes "Meshworm is a toughened, robotic earthworm that can crawl virtually silently at a speed of about 5 millimeters per second. DARPA wants to send it into battle. Believe it or not, the Pentagon's been working on building a robotic earthworm for a while. They tried putting one together with gears. They tried with air-powered and pneumatic pumps, but the results were bulky and untenable. Then, researchers at Harvard, MIT and Seoul National University in Korea put their heads together and designed an 'artificial muscle.' It's essentially a polymer mesh that's wrapped with nickel and titanium wire designed to stretch and contract with heat. When an electric current is applied, the mesh mimics the circular muscle system of an earthworm to scoot forward."

11 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. Question by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Funny

    Will they make good bait?

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:Question by TXOgre · · Score: 5, Funny

      You know, a machine that mimics the motions of an earthworm probably would make a very effective bait. In fact there are several artificial worms out there that try to do exactly that by using the hydrodynamic forces created when reeling in the line. Someone should get on this right away!

  2. Out fight against Queen slug-for-a-butt begins! by Kenja · · Score: 3, Funny

    I assume of course the development of a supper suit to aid our earth worm warriors.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  3. Worms! by mg127 · · Score: 5, Funny

    All that time spent playing Worms! and Earthworm Jim can now be put down on your resume as combat training experience.

  4. All hail the Shai Hulud! by jedidiah · · Score: 5, Funny

    The spice must flow!

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  5. Perfect Name: by Arakageeta · · Score: 4, Funny

    Jim.

  6. This is the beginning of the apocalypse by kelemvor4 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Because a sex toy based on this technology could be so good it would end the human race.

  7. Nitinol power consumption too high by Animats · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This "earthworm" device uses Nitinol shape-memory alloy as an actuator. That's been tried many times before, going back to the 1980s.

    As an actuator, Nitinol can produce significant power in small package, but it's a very inefficient device. The metal will change crystal structure when heated, and return to the original shape when cooled. Heating is usually accomplished by running electricity through the Nitinol wire. Most of the energy goes into waste heat; only a small fraction comes out of the actuator as useful work.

    So a battery-powered earthworm isn't likely. As a cabled device, it has potential. A great application would be short run cable-laying for fibre optics. A machine that could get a fibre optic cable underground from street to house without digging up sidewalks and lawns would be very useful.

  8. BattleTech Myomer Muscle by nevermore94 · · Score: 4, Informative

    This new "artificial muscle" sounds a lot like the Myomer muscles from the BattleTech franchise except that I believed they worked on magnetics instead of heat and they weren't supposed to be invented until 2350.

    --
    Nevermore.
  9. I for one by devnullkac · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one welcome our new earthworm, uh erm, underlords.

    --
    What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
  10. "DARPA wants to send it into battle" by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Informative

    The unanswered question, though, is - to do what, exactly?

    --
    #DeleteChrome