Since their early days robots have tended be limited by the rigid frames that define their bodies.While progress has been made in the field of “soft-robotics” NASA is pushing the boundaries of robotic applications with their Super Ball Bot.
Leveraging the qualities of Buckminster Fuller designed “Tensegrities”, pioneering roboticists at the Ames Research Center want to create a bot that can survive a planetary landing and keep exploring.
According to NASA, “[Tensegrities] are counter-intuitive tension structures with no rigid connections and are uniquely robust, light-weight, and deployable.” Currently, researchers are “developing a mission concept where a "Super Ball Bot" bounces to a landing on a planet, then deforms itself to roll to locations of scientific interest.”
To control the movement of their unique Super Ball’s structure, Ames scientists are experimenting with machine learning algorithms and neuroscience-inspired central pattern generators. If they can bring their new machine under control robotic space exploration might become cheaper and more flexible.
Image and Video Courtesy of NASA and IEEE Spectrum