If that’s possible, why shouldn’t they be equipped with a ‘self-learning mode’ for flawless pursuit upon a rippin’ rice burner? And if not that, then why shouldn’t they use frictional lifting patterns being studied in snakes to propel themselves quickly toward your main artery? I’m thinking tire armor, a grappling device and liquid nitrogen. Here’s the bleak outlook my friends.
Flossie the Robot
She’s reliable, she’s precise, she learns how to ride. Flossie is Castrol’s test subject used in their products trials on different motorcycles and scooters. It’s self-learning mode allows it to adapt to the bike’s clutching and gear changing patterns to optimize how the bike responds during stationary testing… that is until Flossie suddenly, and without warning, become sentient.
Snakes Showing the Way
Researchers have long known that snakes move across the ground using friction. Now, David Hu from the Georgia Institute of Technology, along with colleagues, has found that snakes also lift sections of their body above the ground when moving forward.
When Hu combined these two effects in a computer model of snake movement, it produced simulations that slithered as fast as real snakes do… Hu suggests that the robots would do better if they were wrapped in a skin that mimicked the action of snake scales. – ABC News
Some conceptual experiments for snake robots have already been developed. The clumsy version from the Israeli Army, in the video below, would no doubt benefit from some scale-ly speed. Now, all we need are some robot badger friends on our side… but dang, being de-throated by a rogue robot badger is even more disconcerting that getting nipped on the ankle by a slithering Squamata.
