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The Meshworm is an autonomous robot made from soft, polymer mesh that can move through the use of peristalsis (wavelike movements leading to a forward push). Essentially, this particular robot navigates through the environment like its biological counterpart, and withstands great forces during impact. Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, and Seoul National University took it upon themselves to create this robotic earthworm for U.S. military reconnaissance in 2012. These teams helped develop and gave it numerous abilities that could benefit the military as well as the medical field in the future.

Development
For many years, researchers have been looking for ways to create a new robot that manifested biological aspects, which is also known as biomimetics. Essentially, the developers used aspects from a biological earthworm’s natural behaviors to inspire the meshworm’s creation. In the environment, worms navigate silently through ragged courses. Using this information, they were able to design the meshworm. They decided that it would be useful to utilize peristalsis as the robot’s method of transportation.

Also, the meshworm’s exterior design had to increase its durability. Roboticists usually depended on hard metals to build different products; however, they wanted to utilize a different material that would increase the robot’s ability to withstand great force and allow it to move with greater ease. Hard metals would be more difficult to use since they don’t bend; however, they ended up discovering polymer mesh, a fabric that holds its shape and remain flexible.

Abilities
The meshworm is about two inches long, and it moves at a slow pace of about two inches per second; however, it can still maneuver itself from point a to point b without making noise.

The purpose of building the robotic worm was to create a “soft robot” that could withstand great force. Through experiments, the researchers continuously hit the meshworm and threw it at high speeds at the floor and wall. However, their efforts were not enough to destroy the meshworm as it continuously slithered away unharmed.

While the worm is extremely durable, how it moves around the environment can is crucial to what its future applications may be. When powered on, the meshworm would contract and extend its muscles due to a movement known as peristalsis. The meshworm’s tubular body is wrapped around by a nickel-titanium alloy wire that is companied by a variety of other wires. The meshworm’s form depends on the level of heat that it has been exposed to. When the temperature is high, the nickel-titanium alloy remains in an austenite phase where it bends and then returns to its original shape. When the temperature is low, the alloy’s phase shifts to martensite, where the new meshworm’s shape remainds the same after it has bent.

Even so, the most revolutionary part of this particular robot is the way that it moves from one location to another. Common robots tend to use servos to help them turn wheels or move human-like legs; however, the meshworm mimics the movement of its biological counterpart to help it navigate through the environment. After years of research, the developers were able to create new technology that was inspired by biology.

Specs

 * Tubular-like body made from polymer mesh
 * Nickel-titanium alloy wire wrapped around the body for heat resistance and contraction
 * Individual wires inside polymer mesh using for peristalsis
 * Circuit board within the body used to program the robot’s controls and actions
 * Battery within the body used to power the robot

Applications
The meshworm project was funded by DARPA due to the research organization’s interest in pursuing soft robotics for the benefit of mankind. As a result, the teams from all three universities were able to create a robot that could be used for military reconnaissance. The meshworm’s abilities to move through rough terrain without producing noise and its extreme durability make it a crucial asset to the U.S. military. If the research teams decide to further their experiments with the meshworm, then it is likely that the military could utilize the robot for sound and video feeds.

While the meshworm has yet to be tested for medical use, it is possible that the it may be used for endoscopy for doctors to look inside of their patients’ bodies. Its small design and soft fabric means that it will be quite easy for the robot to navigate through the body without running into much issues.