European scientists have designed a robot that can crawl through the human intestines by mimicking the wriggling motion of a polychaete or "paddle worm", a form of undersea worm.
"We turned to biological inspiration because, in the peculiar environment of the gut, traditional forms of robotic locomotion don't work," says Arianna Menciassi, a roboticist from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy.
"Worms have locomotion systems suited to such unstructured, slippery environments." ...
Next, the researchers plan to develop a robot equipped with a camera and light source that can capture video footage as it travels.
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