When exploring Mars remotely, how is something like this, supposed to explore something like this? The short answer is it can’t, which is why robotic engineers are now working on a crawling, spider-like device which could someday explore the nooks and crannies of other worlds.
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00:00When exploring Mars remotely, how is something like this supposed to investigate something
00:08like this?
00:09The short answer is, it can't.
00:11Which is why robotic engineers are now working on a crawling spider-like device, which could
00:15someday explore the nooks and crannies of other worlds.
00:19They're calling it ReachBot, and it could someday revolutionize space exploration.
00:23Here's Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford, Mark Kutkowski, to explain.
00:27The thought was, well, what if you could have a robot, a small robot, about the size
00:31of a suitcase, let's say, that has extremely long limbs, that it can reach out and grab
00:37the sides of the cave with grippers, and then manipulate itself by alternately attaching,
00:42retracting, and extending those limbs.
00:46Enter ReachBot, an automaton its developers say was inspired by Daddy Longlegs.
00:50They say it was built with a small chassis and very long limbs, which they call booms,
00:55which allow it to get into small spaces and grab onto just about anything.
00:58So why do we need to get into these small spaces on other planets in the first place?
01:02So the end goal, at least for planetary exploration, is to go places where no robot has been able
01:07to go before.
01:08How do you get yourself down into a lava tube or a cave?
01:12These are, by the way, very interesting spaces to explore.
01:15They're relatively sheltered.
01:17If there are any signs of previous life, that's a good place to look for them.
01:22Kwiatkowski adds that these robots could also be used to find new spots for humans
01:27to set up a base off-world.