Scientists Use Dead Spider As Gripper For Robot Arm, Label It a 'Necrobot' (theregister.com) 47
New submitter know-nothing cunt shares a report from The Register: Scientists from Rice University in Texas have used a dead spider as an actuator at the end of a robot arm -- a feat they claim has initiated the field of "necrobotics." "Humans have relied on biotic materials -- non-living materials derived from living organisms -- since their early ancestors wore animal hides as clothing and used bones for tools," the authors state in an article titled Necrobotics: Biotic Materials as Ready-to-Use Actuators. The article, published by Advanced Science, also notes that evolution has perfected many designs that could be useful in robots, and that spiders have proven especially interesting. Spiders' legs "do not have antagonistic muscle pairs; instead, they have only flexor muscles that contract their legs inwards, and hemolymph (i.e., blood) pressure generated in the prosoma (the part of the body connected to the legs) extends their legs outwards."
The authors had a hunch that if they could generate and control a force equivalent to blood pressure, they could make a dead spider's legs move in and out, allowing them to grip objects and release them again. So they killed a wolf spider "through exposure to freezing temperature (approximately -4C) for a period of 5-7 days" and then used a syringe to inject the spider's prosoma with glue. By leaving the syringe in place and pumping in or withdrawing glue, the researchers were able to make the spider's legs contract and grip. The article claims that's a vastly easier way to make a gripper than with conventional robotic techniques that require all sorts of tedious fabrication and design efforts. "The necrobotic gripper is capable of grasping objects with irregular geometries and up to 130 percent of its own mass," the article notes.
The authors had a hunch that if they could generate and control a force equivalent to blood pressure, they could make a dead spider's legs move in and out, allowing them to grip objects and release them again. So they killed a wolf spider "through exposure to freezing temperature (approximately -4C) for a period of 5-7 days" and then used a syringe to inject the spider's prosoma with glue. By leaving the syringe in place and pumping in or withdrawing glue, the researchers were able to make the spider's legs contract and grip. The article claims that's a vastly easier way to make a gripper than with conventional robotic techniques that require all sorts of tedious fabrication and design efforts. "The necrobotic gripper is capable of grasping objects with irregular geometries and up to 130 percent of its own mass," the article notes.
Necrohydraulics? (Score:3, Interesting)
How about this.
Necrobotics -- robots made of dead spiders
Necrohydraulics -- using hydraulic principles to animate the dead spider
Necroelectronics -- using electronics to animate the dead spider
I wouldn't say that this is "necrobotics" quite yet. Too much is being done by the person holding the syringe and stuff. I think this should be more properly called, "Necrohydraulics," because we're just demonstrating a particular interaction. It's not yet a robot.
Re:Necrohydraulics? (Score:4, Funny)
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new Chronicles of Riddick sequel CONFIRMED!
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Using dead spiders to lift up tiny objects. I smell an Ig Nobel Prize in the works.
Or maybe that's just the smell of the spider decomposing...
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It's like the example where most people won't swim in a pool that has a dead body floating in it but have no problem swimming at the beach... in the ocean... which is full of dead bodies so in reality people are fine swimming in a pool with a dead body floating in it. The sticking point is the corpse-to-water ratio.
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Me too. But then "Necrohumor" came to mind. And "Necrodisgust". The list goes on and on.
Re: Necrohydraulics? (Score:2)
What's the shelf life of the gripper though?
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What's the shelf life of the gripper though?
They will be disposable and replaceable, just like the (cough) larger models.
And you can subscribe via Amazon and save.
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I assume that's Amazon as in the actual amazon in Brazil.
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Necrobotics sounds more like a diet where you eat corpses.
Anyway, if anything it should be necroarachnobiotics.
Re: Necrohydraulics? (Score:1)
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Yes.
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In short, Necromancy.
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Necroeconomics - making money on dead spiders
Texans chose this time of year... (Score:2)
...In case any lightning bolts were necessary to complete the project.
I for one welcome... (Score:5, Funny)
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If it sounds like a horror movie intro...don't (Score:4, Insightful)
The probability of something going wrong is astronomically small, but if it does, just think how dumb you will feel. "Where did the zombie cyborg spiders come from"? Well.. we were trying....
Much like the Springer principle (Score:3)
You remind me of a principle I've long used, the Springer principle. If it could the topic on the Jerry Springer show, don't do it.
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kind of like how the "Killer Bees" came about.
What I remember about it was some company in South America, I think it was in Brasil, wanted to make a gentle bee that produced a lot of honey.
So they crossed a very aggressive bee from Africa that makes a LOT of honey with a local species that was docile but didn't produce much honey. What they ended up with was a very aggressive bee that doesn't produce much honey and plot ideas for the plethora of bad "B" movies (pun not entirely unintended).
Apparent
need more proto-blood (Score:2)
So the PI on this project is the supreme Bio-Vizier of the Divine Order?
Everyday we stray further from God (Score:2)
Nope, that's about it really.
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Art or Science/Engineering? (Score:2)
I feel like this is more of an "art" BS than STEM. What advantages does it have over anything else?
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Well, article says it's easier to use a dead spider than to design and build your own gripper.
Maybe easier for a one-off but It certainly isn't easier to use dead spiders on a commercial scale than to design one gripper that can be injection molded or 3d-printed.
I think the Rice students just wanted to have this knowledge published and used the bland justification of facility to answer the inevitable questions of why.
Nope (Score:2)
No. Just no.
Gross (Score:1)
Shame, they want to kill creatures to make it easier for engineering. Are we going back as a society?
Can't grip very big things (Score:1)
Maybe there's something else they could use to grip bigger things?
Creepometer (Score:2)
wow, that username...never thought I'd see it here (Score:2)
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i thought american's had a particularly strong aversion to that word? if submitter is a fellow aussie or pom, it's probably just a nickname of endearment used by his closest friends.
I'm American. I saw it used as an insult here on /. and thought it would be a great username!
You got Slashdot on my Coasttocoast AM (Score:2)
Ahhh Yes - Plan 9... (Score:2)
"..deals with the resurrection of the dead. Long distance electrodes shot into the pineal and pituitary glands of recent dead. Have you attempted any of this plan as yet?"
I guess they have.
Old news? (Score:2)
Maybe it's because she was unimpressed with my previous "What happens to a snowball if it sits in the freezer for
Hate to be the one... (Score:1)
Re:Hate to be the one... (Score:4, Funny)
a user name such as "no-nothing c*nt"
Clearly you deserve it more, but sorry, I got it first!
so, finally, an actual zombie (Score:1)
So this is a zombie based robot, if I am not mistaken? :) I can sort of see where this is going...
"Zombotics" (Score:1)
- The Scary Sci Fi Shit is Finally Here!
Now maybe GOP can reanimate Ronald Reagan like they once dreamt of. I used to be against the idea, but the orange dude made Ronald seem more palatable.
At least it's environmentally friendly (Score:1)
Wonder if they'll commercialize it as a claw pick up game for kids
Coming next... (Score:2)
the giant robot spider from the Wild, Wild, Wild West movie.
Not as good as the real thing (Score:1)
Colour me skeptical (Score:2)
"The article claims that's a vastly easier way to make a gripper than with conventional robotic techniques that require all sorts of tedious fabrication and design efforts."
Say what? That can't be true in general, can it? Shit, it takes them 5-7 days to kill the spider, then they have to replace a bodily fluid with glue...the whole thing sounds incredibly tedious to me.