![\"Engineers](\"https:\/\/wp-assets.futurism.com\/2020\/05\/wiggly-prototype-rovers-vibrate-intensely-escape-sand-300x158.jpg\")
<\/div>Shake It Off<\/h2>
To a hapless Mars rover, getting stuck in a slippery sand trap can be a death sentence<\/a>. That’s what happened to NASA’s Spirit rover ten years ago: its wheels got trapped and the robot was immobilized until it eventually ran out of power.<\/p> To prevent that from happening future exploration robots, The New York Times <\/a><\/em>reports<\/a> that engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology are testing rovers that vibrate intensely<\/a> to avoid becoming ensnared by alien landscapes.<\/p> In order to keep future rovers moving, the engineers are programming prototype robots to shake, gyrate, and army crawl across the top of sandy terrain — which they simulated by filling a glass tank with poppy seeds, according to research<\/a> published in the Science Robotics<\/em> on Wednesday.<\/p> “This combination of wheels and paddling and lifting, if sequenced properly, is really powerful,” Georgia Tech physicist Daniel Goldman told the NYT<\/em>. “No longer just wheels at the end of sticks but they are actually active appendages, and I think that’s exciting.”<\/p> Not only can the bizarre dance prevent a sandy death, but the NYT<\/em> reports that it could enable next-generation rovers to explore previously-inaccessible regions of Mars, like loose-terrained inclines.<\/p> “When you only have wheels,” Goldman told the NYT<\/em>, “that limits your ability to go anywhere.”<\/p> READ MORE: <\/strong>Watch These Rover Models Wiggle Out of Alien Sand Traps<\/a> [The New York Times<\/em>]<\/p> More on rovers: <\/strong>The White House Is Trying to Shut Down NASA’s Last Mars Rover<\/a><\/em><\/p> The post This Wiggly Mars Rover Is the Silliest Thing We’ve Ever Seen<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> Visit link: Shake It Off To a hapless Mars rover, getting stuck in a slippery sand trap can be a death sentence . Continue reading Jitterbug<\/h2>
Want To Break Free<\/h2>
This Wiggly Mars Rover Is the Silliest Thing We’ve Ever Seen<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"