They call him "RatNic" - and the name fits. This small robot, which will be on show at HANNOVER MESSE 2009 courtesy of the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, climbs just like a rat.
With the aid of a camera and special sensors, "RatNic" can perform inspection tasks on vertical and inclined cables, pipes and wires. To develop the climbing movements necessary to complete these tasks, the machine's developers turned to mother nature - in the form of a rat! "RatNic" mimics the rat's climbing techniques, as a result of which it requires 70 percent less energy than conventional climbing robots. When working on its movement mechanism, the developers were also able to repeat this impressive saving in terms of the materials used. The robotic climbing rat is ideal for applications where monitoring tasks need to be automated, or where environmental conditions are hazardous for humans.
Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena
Biolog.-Pharmazeutische Fakultät
Institut für Spez. Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie
Ebertstr. 1
07743 Jena
Germany
Tel.: +49 3641 - 9491-40
Fax: +49 3641 - 9491-42
www.uni-jena.de
Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2009:
Prof. Martin S. Fischer
Hall 2, Stand C37, partner in: Forschung für die Zukunft
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