Robot "Swims" Over Rocks

Associate professor Richard Voyles of the University of Minnesota, whose inspiration for the device came from the scene in the movie "The Terminator" in which the cyborg's dismembered torso crawls across the floor in a last-ditch effort to slay the hero.



While dragging itself across the ground may not seem like an effective mode of transportation, the robot does not have to worry about maintaining its balance and the action saves on power, said Voyles.



Currently the TerminatorBot measures about 3 inches in diameter and 8 inches long, but Voyles has plans to make the device half as small so it can fit into a soda can-sized shell. He also envisions a more modular version that can link up to a second or even third TerminatorBot to produce a device with four or six limbs.

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