This Unstoppable Robot Could Save Your Life

A soft robot powered by compressed air that grows from the tip and can expand to hundreds of times its original size.

• Can pass through tight spaces easily • Not affected by sticky surfaces or spikes • Continues operating even when punctured as long as air pressure is maintained

The concept came from observing how a vine in an office grew outward toward sunlight over the course of a year, seeking light around a shelf edge.

Dozens of potential uses including search and rescue, archeology, medical procedures, and space exploration.

Made from airtight tubing folded on itself that inflates with compressed air, causing it to grow outward from the tip.

• Tape applied to the outside of tubing can shorten one side to control bending direction • Can be shaped into helical patterns to create deployable antennas

In constrained environments, pulling on the tail material causes the robot to retract. In open spaces, internal rollers prevent buckling during retraction.

Can lift objects weighing up to 1000 kilograms with just one-tenth of an atmosphere of pressure applied over a large area, remaining soft throughout.

• End caps keep the camera at the front while being pushed by the robot • External frames interlocked with internal frames, similar to roller coaster wheel mechanisms, prevent cameras from falling off during growth

Three pneumatic muscles with 45-degree braided ripstop nylon fabric allow directional control by shortening and lengthening the sides as the robot extends.

Works like arm tendons: inflating muscles on one side turns the robot one way, deflating and inflating the opposite side turns it the other direction.

Can fit through tight spaces, doesn't get stuck on obstacles, and handles sharp objects without damage.

Vine robot was deployed at an ancient temple in Peru's Andes mountains built between 1500 and 500 BC to investigate underground spaces.

Archeologists discovered small ducts and tunnels branching off from larger gallery rooms but couldn't access them due to their narrow dimensions.

The vine robot successfully explored three tunnels that could not have been accessed by other means, providing complete video footage.

Helped archeologists understand the purpose and design of the underground spaces within the ancient temple complex.

Highly trained medical professionals use a laryngoscope to see the trachea and manually pass a tube down for patients who cannot breathe.

• Procedure is time-consuming and physically demanding on patients • Every second counts in emergency situations • Requires significant professional training

A miniature version can be inserted through the nose with simple pressurization, using passive mechanical intelligence to navigate the correct airway.

Successfully demonstrated in cadaver labs, showing that the device can move from idealized conditions to actual in-vivo situations and perform intubation.

Compressed air jets from the robot's front fluidize sand, making it behave like liquid and allowing the robot to extend through granular materials.

NASA considers vine robots as a potential solution for exploring planetary surfaces where traditional burrowing methods have failed.

Previous heat probe on Mars got stuck trying to hammer its way into cohesive soil, as friction was insufficient between the probe and sand.

Tip extension method doesn't rely on interaction with surrounding material—the robot maintains a base at the surface and simply extends downward progressively.

The vine robot demonstrates how nature-inspired design creates simple yet effective solutions that can be built in under a minute with basic instructions.

• Archeology: exploring ancient underground structures • Search and rescue: navigating collapsed buildings • Medical: intubation procedures • Space exploration: planetary surface investigation

Combines soft construction with powerful lifting capability, making it safe, cheap, and resistant to damage from obstacles or punctures.

Open-ended possibilities for additional applications that viewers might imagine for this versatile soft robotics platform.