Posted on 07/22/2017 12:15:41 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Robots that mimic ivy vines can grow thousands of times their original lengths at speeds faster than the average person can run, a new study finds.
The new soft, flexible robots could one day be used in tight situations, such as to slither through rubble or snake inside the human body...
The newly developed robot is made of soft, flexible polyethylene, the most common plastic in the world. It grows from its tip via internal air pressure, which pushes plastic tubing stored at its base up through the core of its body. The robot is initially about 11 inches (28 cm) long, but can rapidly reach a maximum length of about 236 feet (72 meters), according to the researchers.
"The body doesn't move as the tip extends," Hawkes told Live Science. "That is, you could hold the body of the robot tightly in your hands, and the tip would keep growing."
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
There hasn’t been any meteorological excitement here since the Saturday Anoreth arrived, when we got a massive lightning blowout and 5” of rain in an hour.
3” of rain over night is nothing!
Won't take much to convince me.
From "Cage":
A tentacle extended itself out of the side of the unit, and slithered its way toward the sleeping man’s crotch. Tawney moved the bedclothes aside, and watched in fascination as the device tracked and identified the orifice it was seeking. With what appeared to be a combination of suction and a continuing eversion of the tip of the tubule, it entered the opening and penetrated deep into the interior of the man’s body.
From "Evelynish":
The first part would be the robot individual component, essentially a shrunken hive insect executed in metal and silicon. These things would be tiny, and able to link together like living chains, or to assemble into rods or sheets of material, perhaps even closely enough to contain liquids, or form long strands of high strength steel wire, even binding into cables!
But because each had the ability to change its own shape minutely, the whole assortment of them would be able to move, to pull on the cable, or wrap around an object, and to grow or re-grow the physical structure of a part that had been damaged.
.
I'm ready.
You’re not just “ready”: you’ve been-there-done-that.
To hear me tell it, yeah. But I just make things up.
Now that we have 3-D printers, maybe we should just go ahead and make some of the things I make up.
...
On the other hand, that could well be a spectacularly bad idea. I’d better include Darks in the ping.
We aren’t far from Wickenburg at all. When the weather is nice (i.e., December) we ride our Harleys out there for lunch.
I haven’t seen any cotton fields or orange groves yet, so I guess we’re not near them. I see cactus, though.
Lots and lots of cactus...
Off-roading sounds less attractive.
You definitely don’t want to fall out.
I love Wickenburg. There used to be a little café next to the movie theater that served the most excellent food!
But the last few times I’ve been through that town was when I was either on my way home to Tucson, or on my way to visit my brother in Mesa.
When Igor and I lived in Gila Bend, I would wash my clothes, take them out to the line to hang up and by the time I got the last item hung up, the first one would be dry. Nothing between us and the Sonoran desert but some cotton fields.
In the summer, the “cold” water came out of the tap at 118°. Yah. Like that!
Still does... LOL.
Not in the least surprised! Gila Bend’s water was (and maybe still is) too salty to drink.
There used to be a sign on the south side of town as you are heading in that read, “WELCOME TO GILA BEND ARIZONA. Home of 1200 friendly people and five old crabs.”
I wish I had taken a picture of that sign!
Someone didn’t book the van...
 What's this all about? Zotland the Craven |
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The Summer (July) Chronicles (redux) Ping! FReepmail Darksheare if you want on or off the ping list. This is a low volume ping list (every few days). Read: The May-ish Chronicles (redux) |
T-1000 likes this thread.
W00t!!!
Woo-hoo!!!
New digs!! Beverages of your choice in the library and a BBQ to follow ASAP!
Thanks, Ben Lurkin!!!
Everybody duck!
Pat, roll out the runway, quick!
Someone’s idea of “stowable landing gear” and mine are not the same.
That appears to be a new adaptation on the PzL m28.
They are usually fixed undercart.
Hopefulily they can improve things, ‘cos that just doesn’t look good.
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