Scientists gained inspiration from water striders to create incredible robots that can walk on water.
A team of researchers watched a water strider jump on water surfaces using high-speed cameras to pinpoint its movement and replicate it using artificial intelligence, the American Association for the Advancement of Science reported. The observed the insects' long legs gradually accelerated, preventing the water from retreating too quickly and losing contact with their limbs.
The scientists used a theoretical model of a flexible cylinder floating on liquid to determine that the maximum force of the water striders' legs remains just below the maximum force that water surface tension can hold.
The team of scientist then worked to artificially recreate this movement technique in a lab setting using a small robot. They employed a torque reversal catapult (TRC) mechanism that generated an initial small level of torque, and gradually increased without ever exceeding the surface tension force of the water.
The high-speed cameras also revealed the water strider sweeps its legs inward to increase the time in which their legs can push against the water, allowing them to maximize their overall force. The team also incorporated this technique into the innovative new robots, allowing them to lift off with a greater efficiency.
"With sufficiently light weight, long limbs, and the proper physical mechanisms, these robots effectively mimic their inspirational counterparts in nature," the researchers concluded.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Science.
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