Harvard researchers built a fully untethered, soft robot, with integrated on-board control, sensing, actuation and power supply packed into a tiny tail. (Image courtesy of Ahmad Rafsanjani\/Harvard SEAS)<\/p>\n

The researchers built a fully untethered robot, with its integrated on-board control, sensing, actuation and power supply packed into a tiny tail. They tested it crawling throughout Harvard\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n

The team experimented with various-shaped cuts, including triangular, circular and trapezoidal. They found that trapezoidal cuts \u2014 which most closely resemble the shape of snake scales \u2014gave the robot a longer stride.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe show that the locomotive properties of these kirigami-skins can be harnessed by properly balancing the cut geometry and the actuation protocol,\u201d said Rafsanjani. \u201cMoving forward, these components can be further optimized to improve the response of the system.\u201d<\/p>\n