Harvard University scientists have built a soft robot they say can function without a communications and power tether. The four-legged robot can literally stand up and walk away from the people who built it.

The development team called the machine, which is about a foot-and-a-half long and can carry more than 7 pounds, a huge step forward for robotics.

It has the potential to complete life-saving tasks like squeezing into the crevices of collapsed buildings to search for victims, send their location and images to rescuers and provide them with water and medicines.

“I’m very excited about this,” said Michael Tolley, a research associate at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a member of the project team. “I think it’s really a milestone towards these types of robots becoming more useful in the real world. On one hand, it seems like a relatively simple thing to just cut the cord but a lot of things that have to come together to make it happen.”

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

…