Tentacle Robots For Use in Space Explorations

Space robots are about to get a whole lot sleeker and slinkier.

Researchers are developing new types of robotic systems inspired by elephant trunks, octopus arms and giraffe tongues. These flexible, maneuverable "tentacle robots" could have a variety of space applications, from inspecting hard-to-reach gear on the International Space Station to

exploring crevices on Mars, scientists say.

"Those are all things that would be difficult for a conventional robot to do," roboticist Ian Walker of Clemson University said in April during a presentation with NASA's Future In-Space Operations working group.

The conventional robots to which Walker refers are mainstays of assembly lines around the world. They tend to be anthropomorphic, often modeled after the human arm, and are built to do one thing and do it well, over and over again.

These machines perform precision tasks in highly structured environments, with limited flexibility and adaptability, Walker said.

"What we want to do is something rather different than that," he said. The goal is to develop "something that can adapt its shape more completely down its structure, and to be able to adapt to environments you haven't seen before. So it's the non-factory scenario, in many ways."

Such snakelike robots could aid spaceflight and exploration,

Walker said. For example, astronauts could send them into rock cracks on the moon, Mars and other alien worlds, gathering data about intriguing environments that would otherwise be inaccessible or dangerous to explore. And relatively stout tentacle robots could help rovers anchor themselves when

need be.

"You could reach it out into the environment and grab things,

and basically use it as a tunable hook for stability," Walker

said. "In some ways, this is inspired by various monkeys ,"

which use their tails for the same purpose, he added.

Lithe, flexible robots could also check the outside of the

International Space Station for damage caused by

micrometeoroid strikes, Walker said. They could serve as

useful general-purpose tools aboard the orbiting lab as well,

wielded by astronauts or by NASA's humanoid robot

Robonaut 2 , which was designed to help human crew

members perform menial tasks.